Man Found Guilty After Pulling Gun On Aliceville Police Officer

PICKENS COUNTY, AL. — A Pickens County jury this week found John Robert Taylor, 65, guilty of attempted murder and other charges after he pulled a gun on an Aliceville Police officer in 2015.

District Attorney Andy Hamlin, of the 24th Judicial Circuit, announced the ruling on Thursday, saying Taylor was also found guilty of public intoxication and resisting arrest. His bond was raised to $1 million and he is currently being held in the Pickens County Jail ahead of his Jan. 6 sentencing.

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Taylor was first arrested on April 3 at the B-Mart Convenience Store on Mobile Road in Aliceville the afternoon of April 3, 2015. APD Assistant Chief Tony Thrasher reportedly had stopped there at 3:20 p.m. and noticed that Taylor smelled of alcohol. He also reported that Taylor had been engaged in a verbal altercation with the store manager.

Hamlin's office then said Taylor resisted and pulled a handgun when Thrasher attempted to arrest him. Thrasher said Taylor attempted to pull the trigger before the officer was able to deploy a Taser several times, eventually taking Taylor into custody.

Hamlin also said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms adopted the felon in possession case of a firearm case, leading to his conviction on that charge in federal court in May 2017. Taylor then went to trial on the remaining charges in Pickens County Circuit Court after he served his federal sentence.

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