Years after avoiding prison in a homicide case marked by allegations of undisclosed evidence and unreliable informant testimony, Kayle Taylor is again facing criminal charges that could potentially net a decades-long sentence.
Federal prosecutors say Taylor, 38, helped plan armored truck robberies in Greater Cincinnati, including an alleged conspiracy in Northern Kentucky that was thwarted when the targeted driver realized he was being followed and called 911.
Taylor, 38, and 35-year-old Da'Montez Lowe were indicted Sept. 10 by a federal grand jury in Covington on charges of interference with commerce by threats or violence and gun crimes. Both pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, Taylor and Lowe face up to 20 years for an alleged plot to rob an armored
truck in Covington, with an additional 15 years for the gun-related counts.
The federal allegations come four years after Taylor resolved a Hamilton County murder case later highlighted in an Enquirer investigation into the use of informants and cooperating witnesses in homicide cases that later unraveled.
He spent years in jail while awaiting trial in the killing of 54-year-old Tammy Wiley, who was found bound with duct tape inside her Roselawn apartment in July 2016. Taylor's murder trial ended in a mistrialafter his attorneys argued evidence was withheld. He eventually pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to probation, receiving credit for the more than four years he'd already served.
Taylor previously told The Enquirer that he accepted a guilty plea to end the years-long criminal case, not because he was guilty.
Guns, masks and interchangeable license plate
According to a federal criminal complaint, surveillance footage showed Taylor and Lowe followed a Brink’s armored security truck for nearly three hours as it made stops in Campbell County and into Covington on July 7. The truck’s driver noticed they were being followed and called 911.
Covington police located them at a Kroger gas station in a white Dodge Charger. Taylor was behind the wheel while Lowe was in the passenger seat wearing an armored tactical vest with a gun strapped to it, the complaint states. Lowe told police he owned the car and was licensed to carry a concealed firearm.
Officers searched the vehicle and recovered three handguns, an AR-style rifle and a pump-action shotgun, according to the complaint. Police also found masks, gloves, hooded sweatshirts and an Ohio license plate with Velcro attached to the back.
Federal authorities say the Ohio plate had been reported stolen days earlier. A Florida plate was attached to the vehicle also using Velcro, allowing the license plates to be quickly swapped.
During an interview at the Covington Police Department, Taylor and Lowe provided differing accounts of their activities that day, according to the complaint.
Authorities also recovered audio and video recordings from a dashcam mounted to the Dodge's rearview mirror. An agent said the recordings captured discussions about their robbery plan and how they “could not leave any witnesses since they were in Kentucky."
"They literally recorded themselves," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel King said during a Sept. 14 court hearing. He said Taylor and Lowe had planned the robbery, traveled from Ohio to Kentucky to carry it out and were preparing to attack when Covington police stopped them.
Investigators connect pair to earlier robbery
Authorities also identified Taylor and Lowe as suspects in the April robbery of another Brink’s armored truck in Deerfield Township.
In that case, a masked suspect wearing body armor and carrying a shotgun confronted a Brink's employee, assaulted him and stole an armored truck, according to the Warren County Sheriff's Office. The vehicle was later abandoned near a JCPenney store off Fields Ertel Road.
Video shown during the federal hearing depicts a suspect dressed entirely in black approaching a Brink's security guard with a shotgun, pointing the weapon at the guard's head and striking him with the gun's buttstock.
Taylor and Lowe are of similar size and build to the suspects in the Warren County robbery, the complaint states, adding that the suspects also wore clothing and masks similar to those found inside Lowe’s Dodge.
The sheriff's office's investigators noted that Lowe previously worked for Loomis, another armored transport company.
According to the complaint, Lowe and Taylor shared news coverage of the Deerfield Township robbery in text messages shortly after it happened. They also talked about obtaining a license plate a week before the Covington incident.
King, the prosecutor, said both men potentially face more serious charges in Ohio in connection with the earlier robbery. He noted that authorities believe at least three people were involved in that crime, including a known associate of Lowe.
Defense attorneys challenge government's case
Attorneys representing Taylor and Lowe said in court that nothing in the video of the Deerfield Township robbery identifies their clients as being involved.
Mary Rafizadeh, Lowe's attorney, said nothing happened in the roughly three hours that both men allegedly followed the armored truck in Northern Kentucky. She said the government's allegations are "exaggerated" and based on "hyperbole and speculation."
Steven Howe, Taylor's attorney, noted that while Taylor is prohibited from possessing firearms because of his criminal record, he was not carrying a gun when police stopped the vehicle.
Prosecutors are seeking to keep both men in federal custody while awaiting a trial currently set for Nov. 17. Magistrate Judge Candace Smith heard arguments on that request and is expected to issue a ruling.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: After controversial murder case, man charged in armored truck robbery plot
