Tuesday, July 23,
2002
Airman
on trial in chase, shootout
By Vivi Hoang
Reporter-News Staff Writer
A Dyess airman’s
chase and shootout with Abilene police in October was the finale
in a chain reaction of unlawful activities that began in May 2001,
prosecutors said in his court-martial Monday.
Angelo Errol Taylor
Jr., 22, is charged with failure to obey an order, attempted murder,
desertion, resisting arrest and unlawful action. Taylor pleaded
not guilty to all five charges. If convicted, he faces a maximum
sentence of life in prison without parole.
The court-martial
began Monday at Dyess Air Force Base. Taylor’s defense attorneys
have chosen to make their opening arguments later in the trial
and declined to comment before then.
In April 2001, Taylor
was temporarily stationed with his squadron in the Caribbean island
of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. Taylor served as a guidance
and control systems mechanic with the 40th Airlift Squadron. Military
officials warned airmen that a nearby brothel was strictly off-limits,
testimony showed.
In late May, Taylor
entered the establishment and hired a prostitute, prosecutors
said. He grew enraged when asked to wear a condom, and attacked
the woman, the prosecutors said.
Authorities accused
Taylor of punching the woman in the face, hitting her head against
a headboard and standing on her throat while saying, “I am
going to kill you,” in Spanish. Several airmen testified
they saw Taylor drinking the night of the alleged assault.
The investigator
who looked into the attack testified the prostitute had several
bruises on her neck, shoulder and chin. However, the investigating
agent said that when she reviewed surveillance tapes of those
who entered the brothel that night, none of the tapes showed Taylor.
Taylor was placed
on administrative hold when he returned to Dyess in May. Five
months later, he left the base intending never to return, prosecutors
said.
“The accused
had a frame of mind that nothing would bring him back,” said
Capt. Joshua Kastenberg, one of the prosecutors. “He had
the frame of mind that he would kill anyone who tried to bring
him back.”
On Oct. 30, officers
with the Abilene Police Department and Dyess’ Office of Special
Investigations tried to arrest the senior airman, who had been
absent without leave from the base for a week. Instead of surrendering,
Taylor led the OSI and APD officers on a chase, and shot at them
with a .38-caliber revolver, prosecutors said.
The two OSI officers
were injured when their vehicle overturned.
At the end of the
chase, Taylor exited his car with what testimony showed was a
self-inflicted gunshot wound beneath his chin.
Contact
public safety writer Vivi Hoang at 676-6736 or hoangv@reporternews.com
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