Yesterday we told you about the latest charges brought against Tarvess Taylor, a 26-year-old man from Miami Springs who police say mailed five letters containing a powdery substance to the Broward Sheriff's Office and the Broward County Courthouse last October. He's set to be arraigned today.
Available documents only include tidbits of his letters, and they're for the most part incomprehensible. But the answer to why Taylor may have mailed fake poison to law officials could lie elsewhere -- like in a 2008 police report that says police shot Taylor at least twice in a bank drive-through lane.
Taylor pulled into a Pembroke Pines Bank of America in December 2008, according to the report, and tried to cash a forged check using a bank card and driver's license that had been stolen from another man the day before.
When bank employees discovered the situation, they called the victim and then police. A Pembroke Pines officer pulled into the bank and parked his car, lights flashing, in front of Taylor's, police say. The officer got out of the car and walked toward Taylor -- so Taylor threw his car in drive and headed for the officer, according to the report. The officer got out of the way and, "in fear for his life, fired his duty weapon at the suspect vehicle."
Taylor, shot in both forearms, drove off but made it less than a mile before crashing into another car. Police say Taylor then got out of the car and ran to a home on 99th Way before being arrested and shipped to the hospital with a case of Being Shot.
He was charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, uttering a forged or false check, and grand theft for the bank incident, plus resisting arrest, driving with a suspended license, and leaving the scene of a crash for the attempted getaway. Lesson learned -- if you're going to run from the cops, at least make sure your license is up to date.
The case is scheduled for a calendar call next Friday, but it's unclear how the charges of Mailing Poison to the Courthouse will affect the prosecution. It certainly can't help.
