By Kevin Ueda
Special to the Daily Press

LOS ANGELES — The county board of supervisors approved a $10,000 payment on Tuesday to an informant who helped authorities locate and convict an escaped felon wanted in connection with two separate kidnappings of an elderly Sunset Park woman.

Each of the five board members agreed to forward $2,000 apiece from public funds to an anonymous informant who tipped two U.S. Marshals to the location of Alonzo Fitzgerald Taylor, who was later convicted of burglary, kidnapping and escape, according to a Board of Supervisors staff report.

On May 3, 2005, Taylor was to stand trial for charges on receiving stolen property and unlawful driving of a vehicle.

The only problem was Taylor never showed up.

At the criminal courts building in downtown Los Angeles, Taylor obtained a white jumpsuit, which signifies a freed inmate. He changed out of his green inmate jumpsuit and walked away from the facility just one day before his trial was to start.

Taylor had been classified as a “low-risk” inmate at the Northern County Correctional Facility in Santa Clarita, Calif., despite pending felony charges.

At the time of his escape, he was also awaiting trial on seven felony counts for the two kidnappings in Sunset Park in Fall 2004. Taylor was said to have used a syringe and a screwdriver to rob and assault an elderly woman who lived on the 1000 block of Bay Street. He also allegedly threatened to burn her house down, which is a criminal threat.

Sheriff Lee Baca acknowledged that employee slip-ups allowed Taylor to walk out of the criminal courts building.

The board of supervisors subsequently issued a notice offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Taylor.

Two weeks later, a person in Forest Park, Georgia, recognized the face from a wanted poster for an escaped 41-year-old, black-haired, 6-foot, 4-inch, 220-pound convict: Alonzo Fitzgerald Taylor.

According to the staff report, the person acted as an informant to John Hinton and Tim Boggs, two U.S. Marshal representatives. The informant agreed to meet them at a work location and help locate Taylor.

One week later, on May 21, 2005, the informant came in contact with Taylor and immediately notified the U.S. Marshal representatives, according to the staff report.

Hinton and Boggs arrived with additional officers at the Home Lodge Inn and arrested Taylor.

A county code allows each board member to reward a maximum of $5,000 apiece from public funds.

“In particularly heinous crimes, or where the community is at risk, the board may increase reward amount,” said Angie Montes, from the department of supervisors of fiscal operations to the executive office. “There’s no limit on that.”

What constitutes a “heinous crime” is likely up to the board of supervisors’ interpretation, Montes said.

By June 2, 2005, Taylor was back in Los Angeles, facing another charge — escape.

Taylor was subsequently found guilty of burglary, kidnapping and escape. As a third-strike felon, he was sentenced to 62 years to life in prison.

Prior to his third strike, Taylor had previously served time in prison for two burglary convictions. He served two years for a 1991 conviction, and 12 years for a 1994 conviction. Both crimes took place in Torrance, Calif., said DA spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons.

Former Olympic silver medalist Danny Harris was first charged for Taylor’s crimes in 2004, regarding the kidnappings. He spent about two months in jail before he was cleared of the charges.