Former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor avoided trial by pleading guilty to nine charges Tuesday for shooting his cousin, threatening a family member by firing a gun, and punching another man.
In September, Taylor got permission from Circuit Judge Leon Johnson to go to Florida for 10 weeks. While in Florida, Taylor was training for a comeback fight and was ordered to stay out of trouble.
The first trial was slated to begin Thursday, but following Taylor’s guilty plea, all three trials have now been canceled.
Taylor’s defense attorney, Hubert Alexander, told the judge that the 2000 Olympic bronze medalist is ready to return to the ring.
“He’s been training pretty hard. They’re ready for him to fight,”
Alexander said via Arkansas Online.com. “He said he’s ready to fight.”
Taylor pleaded guilty to six counts of aggravated assault, two counts of terroristic threatening and a second-degree battery charge Tuesday.
Each charge is a Class D felony that carries up to six years in prison.
Furthermore, Taylor admitted to misdemeanor marijuana possession, which carries a punishment of up to a year in jail, but that count will not add any more time to any prison sentence that he may receive.
In total, Taylor faces up to 54 years in prison, and will be sentenced on April 19.
– Ryan O’Hara @OHaraSports
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