Brian Earl Taylor: Convicted Felon Sings Adele During Michigan Courtroom Hearing
A convicted felon hoped to earn freedom, or at least a reduced prison, on March 10 by singing an Adele song in front of an Ann Arbor judge. Although the judge thought his vocal attempts were remarkable, it didn’t do him much good.
People reports that Brian Earl Taylor, 21, facing up to 17 years in prison for carrying a concealed weapon and unlawful imprisonment, sang Adele’s hit song “Hello” for Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Darlene O’Brien last Monday. As onlookers in the courtroom sat seriously, albeit a bit surprised, a man standing next to Taylor, presumably an attorney, seems to be trying to hold in a smile as he looks down at paperwork while the man in a navy blue jail suit sang,
“Hello there, your honor. I want to say I’m sorry for the things I’ve done and I’ll try and be stronger in this life I chose, but I want you to know — that door, I closed. And your honor I’m sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.”
Taylor also sang his apologies to his mother and to the victim of the crime, but it wasn’t enough to gain any mercy from O’Brien. The judge commended Taylor on his singing abilities and said that, although he was “obviously a talented young man,” he should focus on taking advantage of the programs the prison offered.
Before he started singing, Taylor informed O’Brien that he planned to stay away from marijuana, go to church, and get a degree in business management at Eastern Michigan University. He requested that the judge only give him 36 months so that he could finish up his degree before he turned 26, but O’Brien informed him that the crimes he committed carried a sentence of 50 to 100 months behind bars.
On November 9, 2015, police stopped a disturbance between two men at the Peninsular Place apartment complex in Ypsilanti, Michigan. One of the men, Taylor, was a part of a kidnapping and robbery attempt. The two men were struggling with each other on the apartment complex’s second floor when police noticed that Taylor was pressing a gun into the abdomen of the other man.
Officers ordered Taylor to drop his weapon and lay on the ground. Taylor complied and was promptly placed in the back of a police cruiser. Taylor, who was already on parole and had several warrants out of Wayne County, was arrested and taken to the Washtenaw County Jail. According to a statement released by the Ypsilanti Police Department after the arrest:
“The Ypsilanti Police Department wants to thank those in the community for getting involved after seeing one of their citizenry being victimized, so that we could respond effectively. Fortunately the subject complied with the officer’s commands, so that lethal force was not necessary.”
Through a plea agreement, Taylor will serve two years in prison for carrying a concealed weapon and 18 months to 15 years for the unlawful imprisonment charge. He’ll also serve time for his parole violation, which must be completed before he serves his time for his two other crimes. As part of the plea agreement, five additional charges against the Adele singer were dropped.
Brian Earl Taylor will face a final pretrial hearing on March 24, which stems from a separate incident in which he’s charged with stealing or retaining a financial transaction device without consent in Washtenaw County.
[Photo by Luca Teuchmann/Getty Images/Stringer]
