***MEDIA ADVISORY***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 19, 2015

JURY CONVICTS DEFENDANT WHO CONFINED VICTIM AFTER THREATENING HER WITH A KNIFE

Media Contact: Curtis T. Hill, Jr. (574) 296-1888

On Wednesday, June 17, 2015 an Elkhart County jury in Superior Court 3 took approximately 50 minutes to convict Gregory A. Taylor, Jr., 41, of one count of Criminal Confinement with a Deadly Weapon, a Class B felony. The conviction resulted after jurors heard testimony from the victim herself, whom Taylor confined in an upstairs bedroom for at least five hours at a house on Middlebury St. in Elkhart on December 12, 2013. The jury also heard from two other residents of the house who heard “stomping” upstairs throughout the early morning hours on the day of the incident. Additionally, one of the residents testified that he went upstairs around 4:45 a.m. to request Taylor and the victim quiet down. When the victim began to speak, Taylor told her to “shut up” and not to “share their business.”

Jurors heard from two responding officers and a detective from the Elkhart City Police Department who all participated in the investigation. A video recorded statement made by Taylor to Detective Carl Conway was played for the jury. In the statement, Taylor told the detective that earlier in the day on December 11, 2013, some of his acquaintances had forcibly intoxicated him with drugs, making him unaware of what he was doing, and therefore he should not be held accountable for his conduct. Taylor also argued that the victim was free to leave even though Taylor was armed with a knife throughout the incident, struck the victim multiple times, and threaten to burn down the house if she left. The jurors discounted Taylor’s statement and found justice for the victim.

Taylor's sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 9, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. in the Elkhart County Jail. Taylor is being held without bond at the Elkhart County Jail pending sentencing.

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“Under Indiana law, all persons arrested for a criminal offense are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”