by David P. Greisman

Authorities in Arkansas now have until mid-August to complete a mental evaluation of Jermain Taylor, the former middleweight champion who first got into serious trouble in 2014, added a second incident earlier this year, and now has a third case against him that arose while he was in custody.

The trials that had been scheduled for the first two cases have been canceled for the moment, according to online court records. A hearing has been set for Aug. 24, however. His mental evaluation must be completed by Aug. 17.

“That hearing would be expedited if the report on the evaluation is completed early,” the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

The 36-year-old allegedly shot and wounded his cousin during a confrontation at Taylor’s home last August. He’s facing one felony count of first-degree battery and one felony count of first-degree terroristic threatening.

He was arrested again in January following an incident at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Little Rock in which he is accused of pointing his gun at a woman and her kids and shooting at their father after a child dropped Taylor’s world title. Taylor is facing five felony counts of aggravated assault, one felony count of terroristic threatening, and one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance.

Then, while at a rehabilitation center, Taylor allegedly assaulted a man in May. That case has been formally moved from district to circuit court. He’s facing one felony count of second-degree battery. Taylor had been moved to the rehabilitation center in March but has been back in jail since a couple of weeks after this latest incident.

The victim “suffered five bone fractures and was unconscious when rehabilitation staff took him to the hospital. He had to undergo reconstructive surgery for his injuries,” the Democrat-Gazette reported. The victim believes what happened was “that he had greeted Taylor and held up his hand to ‘high-five’ the boxer, but Taylor swatted his hand out of the way, then punched him in the face.”

Meanwhile, Taylor’s wife has filed for divorce and wants to sell their property, the newspaper reported.

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