COLLEGE STATION, Texas — A former cast member of “The Bachelorette:” Season 12 was arrested early Saturday morning on charges of driving while intoxicated and unlawful carrying of a weapon, according to several media reports. The College Station Police Department apprehended James McCoy Taylor, 36, in the Northgate district.
Television reality star and American singer/songwriter Taylor, of Katy, was detained in the Brazos County Detention Center. According to online jail records, he was released on bonds totaling $6,000.
CBS-affiliate KBTX cited a probable cause statement from the College Station Police Department, an off-duty Blinn College officer caught Taylor urinating in the Northgate Parking Garage around 2:45 a.m. near his 2012 Ford F150 pickup. The officer instructed him to stop and to not drive his truck. Although ensuring with the officer that he’d find another way to leave, moments later, Taylor got behind the wheel and pulled off.
According to reports, a College Station police officer found Taylor driving around the parking lot after being notified of the earlier altercation. When approached by police, Taylor claimed he was just trying to travel to an area with better cellphone reception.
KBTX said police reported they had to reach inside the vehicle and turn it off, afterwards demanding Taylor to step out.
In a KBTX report, police depicted Taylor “as having glassy eyes with slurred speech and smelling of alcohol while swaying back and forth while standing.” Allegedly, he told officers he had six drinks at several bars in Northgate from 10 p.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday.
The arrest report also mentions an impaired 18-year-old “college freshman companion,” in the truck with him, who “was not in any kind of condition to appraise the benefits and risks of the situation she was in.” Taylor claimed to have just met her in Northgate and had plans to take her back to her dorm room.
After Taylor failed to pass sobriety tests, he was taken into custody for driving while intoxicated.
While Taylor was under arrest, police said he started spewing abusive language, calling an officer an “idiot,” etc. The report read that he also threatened to have the officer fired and press charges.
As police searched Taylor’s truck, they found a handgun which, according to Texas law, can’t be on the person of someone committing a crime.
Last year, Taylor made national news for threatening various news outlets that he claimed made false reports on his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection. He’s due to make an appearance at the Texas Youth Summit in Woodlands later this month, according to an Instagram post.