LSU football player charged in Cumming gun theft, suspended indefinitely from team

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — An LSU football player has been suspended indefinitely from the team after he was arrested in connection with a burglary at a Forsyth County pawn shop.

Tyler Taylor, 19, is charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit a crime, theft by taking, criminal damage to property and theft by receiving stolen property. The sophomore linebacker graduated from Lanier High School in 2017.

Multiple guns were stolen from Pawnopoly, which is located in Cumming, during a burglary early in the morning on Jan. 8, according to a police report.

Surveillance video captured the men breaking the shop's glass door with hammers before grabbing guns and then jumping back into a waiting car and taking off. Investigators said Taylor didn’t break into the store, but stayed in the car as the getaway driver.

“It was about 3 o’clock in the morning. A number of individuals came in and broke the glass, took eight long guns, some shotguns and rifles and were out of here in a matter of seconds,” manager Chad Davis said.

TRENDING STORIES:

• 2 men were hit by a car while filming a rap video; Now, they are the ones charged
• 'I hate this county.' Georgia House candidate convicted of DUI unloads on cops
• Not the peaches! All this rain could hit your wallet at the grocery store

The report says two of the men in the video matched the description of suspects in a Dec. 25, 2017, burglary at the same location.

Investigators worked the case for months.

In April, Gwinnett County police recovered multiple guns stolen in the Jan. 8 robbery. Those allowed police to identify Taylor as a suspect, as well as Zyon Joseph, Davon Martin, Jordan Moore and one unidentified juvenile.

The investigation traced Taylor’s cellphone near the pawn shop the night of the crime.

In May, with the help of federal authorities, police took out criminal warrants on the suspects.

Joseph told police that Taylor drove the group to the robbery but did not get out of the car, participate in breaking in or take any guns. He is charged under Georgia’s party to a crime statute, which allows anyone who assists in an alleged crime to be charged with the most serious offenses.

Joseph and Martin were charged with burglary, theft by taking, criminal damage to property and conspiracy to commit a crime in connection with both the Dec. 25 and Jan. 8 burglaries. Moore and the juvenile were charged with burglary, theft by taking, criminal damage to property and conspiracy to commit a crime in connection with the Jan. 8 burglary. Taylor’s additional charge of theft by receiving stolen property stemmed from his allegedly receiving a gun stolen in the Jan. 8 burglary.

Davis said it's disheartening that such a promising young athlete, who worked so hard to make the LSU football roster, may now have derailed his future with one bad decision.

“It's sad for the families and all the individuals who are going to suffer from this,” Davis said.

Taylor was released on $33,000 bond.

Cox Media Group