BEAUMONT — Four regional men apprehended in Beaumont have been linked to the killing of an armored car courier in Houston.

U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown announced the suspects’ arrests this week on federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas.

Those implicated include David Nathan Taylor, 28; Prentis Leewood Delaney, 29; Coray Quan Brown, 32; and Jamarius Early Jones, 21; all of Houston, who each appeared in federal court Wednesday in Beaumont.

According to the criminal complaint filed in the Eastern, District of Texas, the FBI is investigating a series of armored car robberies, including the fatal robbery of a Loomis armored car courier that occurred Oct. 24 in Houston.

During that robbery, three individuals brandished firearms and demanded money from the courier. The courier was shot and killed.

A subsequent investigation led officers to four suspects. On Monday, these individuals were observed in Houston prior to traveling to Lake Charles, La., in two vehicles.

Upon arriving in Lake Charles, law enforcement observed the suspects following an armored vehicle that then traveled to Beaumont.

After arriving in Beaumont, they were encountered by police and arrested. Inside one of the vehicles officers discovered two AR-15 style rifles, a pistol, three masks, three sets of gloves, five cell phones and two open bottles of rubbing alcohol.

A criminal complaint charging the individuals with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery was signed Tuesday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Zack Hawthorn.

The Hobbs Act prohibits actual or attempted robbery that has an effect on interstate commerce by reason of their repetition and aggregate effect on the economy.

Investigators believe the crew is responsible for the October 2019 murder of an armored car guard in northwest Houston.

If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison.

This case is being investigated by the FBI, Beaumont Police, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Lake Charles Police and Houston Police.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell E. James is prosecuting the case.