Originally posted by pckank1:
Originally posted by BigDaddyHokie:
spent 72 days in jail for a robbery he says he did not commit. The case has been dropped by the police due to lack of evidence.
He seems like a fine young man and I believe him when he says it was mistaken identity.
I hope he gets to fulfill his dream of playing college football and I hope VT stands by its offer.
The case was not dropped due to a lack of evidence. Actually, the case was "set aside", not dropped. Big difference. The police say they have sufficient evidence to tie Taylor and his brother to the crime, and the reason the case has not continued at this point is because the victims are afraid to press charges. The police chief said the brothers got a "break of a lifetime, and I hope they make the best of it."
Stick to stats and stop trying to be a lawyer. They were charged; [/I] the [/I]case ended in nolle prosequi which is an admission from the state that they CAN'T PROVE the charges. You're just quoting a backwoods police chief from a news article. "Set aside" isn't even a criminal case status.
I'm not so sure they did it. 19 and 18 yrs old with no previous criminal record, not even a misdemeanor charge, both played sports year round for the previous decade,
Growing up, the Taylor brothers played sports all year round. They went from football in the fall, to basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring. "From the time Tabyus was nine and Teandrey was eight, they have never been without playing a sport," their mother said. "They went from one sport to the next sport."[/QUOTE]both had a history of volunteering; the local commonwealth attorney had to step aside from the case; conflict of interest because the family had volunteered on his campaign; a special prosecutor was brought in.
both are widely known in that small community as sports stars, the older brother graduated high school and the younger one is in his senior year.
They had on their persons at the time of arrrest receipts from purchases made at Southpark Mall in Colonial Heights within 30 min prior to the robbery.
So two local sports superstars who have never even been in trouble go to the mall and purchase some overpriced merchandise then decide after arriving home to go right back out and put a gun to someone's head and steal their smokes? I don't know about this Kank..... But I read the case, rather than read that one short sensationalized article from the local news channel and judge them.
Listening to Tabyus' version of the arrest, he comes across as being honest.
"I was looking confused, Tabyus said. "He told me to get down and I went to my knees."
They
were charged; but the police claim the victims are "afraid to testify", yet the chief maintains he has "sufficient evidence to tie them to the crime". Something doesn't add up. If the prosecutor has sufficient evidence, is he really gonna let them go without even a trial and probation/warning for as serious a crime as an armed robbery with a firearm? Not likely in my opinion. The mercy would likely be given at sentencing by the judge, not from nolle prosecui.
72 days in adult lockup where Tabyus said it "was hell", with NO bond even though they had no previous records? Possible mistaken identity and racial profiling? Sounds like a huge lawsuit to me. Wouldn't that give the chief motive for his statement that they have enough evidence, so the family feels "lucky" the case is a nolle prosecui and are less likely to "stir" the pot with suit? A lawsuit and publicity over a blunder like this and he could lose his job. Hell, the entire department would probably be audited by the feds with a little outside pressure.
This post was edited on 3/22 1:59 AM by SunnyBeachWave
