by David P. Greisman 

The alleged shooting case involving middleweight titleholder Jermain Taylor is being moved from district court to circuit court, which led to the filing of formal charges Wednesday afternoon.

Taylor is facing a pair of felonies: 1st-degree battery and 1st-degree terroristic threatening, according to Arkansas Online. The case stems from an August incident in which Taylor allegedly shot his cousin more than once, injuring him; he’s also accused of threatening another man. 

Per the article: “Deputies reported that the boxer told them that he and [his cousin] ‘had problems… in the past’ and that when [the cousin] came onto Taylor’s property without an invitation, they argued. An arrest report said Taylor told investigators he went inside his home, grabbed his gun and then went back out and started firing.”

If convicted, the battery charge carries a sentence of five to 20 years, while the terroristic threatening charge comes with a sentence of no more than six years, according to Arkansas legal guidelines. In this reporter’s experience, sentences tend to run concurrently—at the same time—rather than consecutively, having the time added together to create one larger sum.

Defense attorneys claim Taylor was illegally interrogated and was improperly taken into police custody after the shooting. Hearing and trial dates had not yet been scheduled, the article said.

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