James McCoy Taylor arrested in College Station

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - College Station police arrested Texas singer, songwriter, and reality TV contestant James McCoy Taylor early Saturday morning in the Northgate district and was booked into the Brazos County Detention Center on charges of Driving While Intoxicated and Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon.

Taylor, 36, of Katy, was released later in the day on bonds totaling $6,000, online jail records show.

According to a probable cause statement filed by College Station Police, Taylor was first contacted in the Northgate Parking Garage around 2:45 a.m. by a Blinn College Police Officer who was working an off-duty assignment in the garage.

According to the officer, Taylor was urinating in the parking lot near his 2012 Ford F150 pickup. The officer spoke to Taylor and “advised him against urinating near the truck” and “further advised James not to drive the Ford F150.” Taylor assured the officer he would not drive and would find another way to leave, but moments later he returned to his pickup truck and drove away, the report states.

College Station police were notified and an officer found Taylor driving through the garage toward the exit gate. According to the arrest report, he told the officer he was only trying to move his truck to a different area of the parking garage to find better cell phone service.

Police say they had to reach inside the truck and turn off the ignition and then directed Taylor to exit his vehicle.

Officers described Taylor as having glassy eyes with slurred speech and smelling of alcohol while swaying back and forth while standing. He reportedly told police he had been drinking at Northgate and consumed six drinks during his time at several different bars between 10 p.m. Friday and 1 a.m. Saturday.

Police also noted in their arrest report there was an 18-year-old “college freshman companion” in the passenger seat of the pickup that Taylor had just met at Northgate and he was planning to take her back to her dorm room. Police went on to write in the report that she was impaired and “was not in any kind of condition to appraise the benefits and risks of the situation she was in.”

Following field sobriety tests, police placed Taylor under arrest for driving while intoxicated.

During the arrest, police said he became verbally abusive towards the officer, called him “an idiot” among other things, and made threats to have the officer fired and would press charges.

In Taylor’s truck, police found a handgun in the driver’s door pocket. Texas law states that it is unlawful to carry a weapon while committing a criminal offense such as driving while intoxicated.

Taylor is a singer and songwriter who may be best known for his appearance on The Bachelorette: Season 12. He made national headlines last year after he threatened to sue several media outlets that he claims falsely reported he was part of the January 6 capitol riot. According to a post on his Instagram page, Taylor is scheduled to be a guest at the Texas Youth Summit in The Woodlands later this month.

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