Taylor gets third strike amid kidnapping trial
LAX COURTHOUSE — A jury handed down a guilty verdict on Friday for the man suspected of kidnapping a Santa Monica elderly woman on two separate occasions.
Alfonzo Fitzgerald Taylor was found guilty of all seven felony charges related to the two incidents that occurred on Oct. 18 and Nov. 4, 2004. He faces a minimum of 40 years in prison, according to Kevin Halligan, the district attorney who prosecuted the case.
Taylor walked away from the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles the day before a separate jury trial was set to begin last May on charges of receiving stolen property and unlawful driving of a vehicle, an incident independent of the two alleged kidnappings of a Sunset Park woman that occurred in the fall of 2004.
Taylor, in his 40s, was captured in Georgia and returned to custody in Los Angeles County within weeks of his May 2005 escape, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Taylor’s jury trial for the kidnapping and home robberies that occurred in the 1000 block of Bay Street in Santa Monica began on Jan. 20.
Last February, Taylor was charged for the Sunset Park crimes that included one count of kidnapping, two counts of first-degree burglary, two counts of first-degree residential robbery and two counts of making criminal threats.
Taylor has also faced one count of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle, one count of receiving stolen property, one count of resisting a police officer and one count of driving as an unlicensed driver. Those charges, which he was to stand trial for last May, stem from him allegedly stealing a car in Las Vegas, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Taylor will be sentenced by Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Due to the length of his prison stay, authorities may forego prosecuting other crimes for which he has been charged, Halligan said.
Halligan said he was pleased with the jury’s decision and felt they realized the evidence pointing to Taylor’s guilt was irrefutable. He thanked Det. John Henry of the Santa Monica Police Department for conducting the extensive investigation that led to Taylor’s successful prosecution.
Charles Elliot, Taylor’s attorney, declined to comment.
Taylor is a twice convicted California felon — he served two years in state prison for a 1991 conviction for burglary and he served 12 years in state prison for a 1994 conviction for burglary. Both crimes occurred in Torrance, said DA spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons.
Former Olympic Silver Medalist Danny Harris was first charged with the crime in November. Harris, who captured a silver medal in track in the 1984 Olympics, spent nearly two months in jail before he was cleared of the charges.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 28, 2006. Read the original PDF.