OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) - A teenager charged in a car crash that killed an Auburn University radio announcer and his wife earlier this year went to jail Wednesday after a judge revoked his bond.
Lee County District Judge Russell Bush ordered the arrest of 16-year-old Johnston Edward Taylor during a hearing, and deputies took him straight to jail, news outlets reported.
Tommy Spina, a lawyer representing Taylor, called the decision fair.
Taylor was free on $50,000 bond while charged with two counts of reckless manslaughter in the death of Auburn broadcaster Rod Bramblett and his wife Paula in May. Authorities allege Taylor was driving about 90 mph (145 kph) in a 55 mph (90 kph) zone when he rear-ended the Bramblett s’ vehicle in Auburn.
Prosecutors asked the judge to revoke the bond because Taylor received at least three tickets in November for speeding and reckless driving. In one instance, authorities found marijuana residue in his car, prosecutors said in court documents.
The judge ordered Taylor into rehabilitation, and District Attorney Brandon Hughes said the youth could be transferred from jail to a facility as soon as Monday. The defense could ask to another bond once Taylor completes rehabilitation, he said.
“That’s a long way away,” Hughes told reporters after the hearing.
Spina, the defense attorney, has said he wasn’t aware of Taylor’s traffic tickets last month until Hughes asked the judge to revoke the bond.
“It is hoped that my client will benefit from the opportunity that he’s been given to show that his actions do not define the person that he is,” Spina said in a statement.
Rod Bramblett was Auburn’s football and men’s basketball announcer from 2003 until his death, and he had called baseball games since 1993.
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