The daily newspaper gave today the details from the arrest report on Justin Princes Taylor, Jr. who has been charged with the murder of the owner of 7 Stars Auto Inc, Adnan Glelati.
According to the arrest report, Taylor came to the car lot around 9 a.m. Wednesday, August 14. He asked to purchase a vehicle from Glelati for $500, Abdul Abumohaimed, a friend of Glelati’s who was having coffee with the victim at the time, told investigators.
Taylor had worked at the dealership earlier this year, and Glelati had repossessed a vehicle from him. Abumohaimed asked Glelati if he needed him to stay at the lot while Taylor was there and Glelati replied that he did not, so he left, according to the report.
Not long afterwards, an employee showed up for work and found Glelati dead in the office and called the Sheriff’s Office.
What the PNJ article failed to mention was that Taylor was in the county’s work release program and had checked out at 7 a.m. that Wednesday to report to work at Willie G’s Detailing Shop, 760 Van Pelt Suite “Fâ€, and to Pathways/Lakeview/Drug Treatment Program. And Taylor had been in the program for three weeks, even after he had been arrested for another crime.
Taylor had been in the program since July 25, 2013. He was placed in the Work Release Program by Judge Scott Duncan, via Drug Court, for the charges of Grand Theft, Case#2011CF002047A; Grand Theft Auto, Case#2011CF004782A; and Make Present False Proof Motor Vehicle Insurance and Uttering a Forged Instrument, Case Uttering a Forged Instrument, Case #2011CF004783A.
The prior week Taylor had been arrested for burglary, grand theft, fraud and stolen property charges in a separate incident on Aug. 5. Those charges didn’t impact his work release apparently, which left him free to wander the community, shop for a car and allegedly kill Mr. Glelati.
Under the conditions of work release, Taylor was allowed out Monday-Friday at 7 a.m. and was supposed to return by 9 p.m. On Saturday, he could leave the facility to report to work at 7 a.m., and return at 6:30 p.m.
On the day of the murder, Taylor was scheduled to report back to the facility at 9 p.m., and he failed to do so. Escambia County Investigators arrived at the Escambia County Work Release Program to investigate a new Grand Theft charge, allegedly committed by Justin Taylor. They contacted Justin Taylor via phone from the Work Release Program. They made arrangements to meet Justin Taylor at the Pathways/Lakeview Drug Treatment Program at 8 p.m., but Justin Taylor did not show up. Justin Taylor was later arrested and booked into the Escambia County Jail at 12:04 a.m., on August 15, 2013.
It’s time the commissioners start an independent investigation of its work release program run by Gordon Pike.
How could an inmate with new charges be allowed to remain in the program? Did Taylor commit those alleged crimes when he was work release? Why didn’t the supervisors know Taylor hadn’t shown up for work? Had he missed other work? Had he missed appointments at Pathway for Change?
A man is dead and the county needs to know how their staff allowed it to happen.