"Bachelorette" alum James McCoy Taylor was arrested in Texas for assault and unlawful restraint following an incident earlier this year.
Jail records obtained by People indicate the 38-year-old — who competed on JoJo Fletcher's season of "The Bachelorette" in 2016 — was taken into custody Sunday at College Station Police Department on warrants related to an April 24 incident.
Details surrounding the events that unfolded that day are scarce, but Taylor alluded to what happened in a statement to People, saying that, after the incident, there was "not so much as a scratch on me (as I showed to police via pictures of my whole body which was awkward to say the least)."
"I'm a pretty big guy but I was trying to 'unlawfully restrain' a girl and she just … got away?… and walked right to her Uber right outside my house? With NO injuries?" he continued, adding, "Trust me, if there were ANY injuries they'd be all over the internet.
"To people reading this: If you want fame, it never ends up like that. If you want money, it never ends up like that. If you want to ruin my life, it always ends up like that… keep it up," he continued.
"I would never hurt anybody. I'm nice to EVERY person I meet," he added.
"I don't know the daughter's name because we didn't spend much time together, but I feel like she wouldn't want all this to have gotten here either if she could go back. And I don't hate you either. I just wish I knew where you were coming from and where this came from."
He was released the same day and faces a $4,000 cash bond for each charge, totaling $8,000.
Taylor had a previous run-in with the law in 2022, when he was detailed in College Station, Texas on charges of driving while intoxicated and unlawfully carrying a weapon.
Taylor was caught urinating in a parking garage, and instructed by a police officer not to drive, local outlet KBTX reported. Ignoring the instructions, he drove off and was later arrested. A police report also revealed Taylor had an 18-year-old "college freshman companion" in the car, who was reportedly "not in any condition to understand the situation she was in."
He was released the same day on a $7,000 bond.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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