Boxer Jermain Taylor was arrested early Tuesday morning over a domestic disturbance with his girlfriend, authorities said, marking another incident in a string of legal troubles for the 38-year-old former champion.
Maumelle police were called at 2:41 a.m. to 108 Lily Drive on a report of a domestic disturbance in progress, according to a statement from the Police Department. Property records show Taylor owns the residence on Lily Drive.
At the front door of the residence, police found Taylor and his girlfriend, Ashley White, 28, who told authorities an argument between them had turned physical, according to the police report. She told authorities the argument began over past problems in their relationship, the police report said. White told police she has been in a relationship with Taylor since December.
According to the police report, Taylor damaged White's phone during the argument so she would not be able to notify authorities.
Jermain Taylor through the years
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The couple then wrestled on the floor and Taylor bit White on her left arm and face, according to the report. White said she got away and tried to run from the residence, according to the department statement.
Taylor charged after her, but she sprayed him with pepper spray, according to the report. The report states that Taylor chased her down the street and said he would kill her.
Taylor was the one who called Maumelle police to report the incident.
"There's a woman in my house, she won't leave," he is heard saying on a recording of the 911 call.
He called White crazy and said she was running through the neighborhood.
"She's hollering, she's hollering at my neighbors," Taylor told a 911 operator.
Taylor said on the recording that his son was in the house and was scared. He also said he wanted White away from his life, according to the recording.
Officers saw bite marks on White, according to the statement from the Police Department. Taylor told police that he never hit White or damaged her phone. White did not accept medical treatment for her injuries, the report said.
Taylor was charged with first-degree terroristic threatening, a felony, and two misdemeanor charges -- third-degree domestic battery and interference with emergency communication, according to the statement.
According to court records, Taylor's wife, Lutza Gayot Taylor, filed a complaint for separate maintenance from the boxer last month. The couple were married in August 2016 but separated in May of this year, according to the complaint.
According to the document, Taylor's physical abuse forced his wife "to leave the marital home without any money or a vehicle." Court records show Taylor was served with the notice at his Lily Drive residence on July 10.
Taylor is a former Olympian and former boxing champion who has also been inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
In 2015, Taylor avoided a trial by pleading guilty to nine felony charges for shooting his cousin, punching another man and threatening a family by firing a gun. For the nine felony charges, Taylor received a six-year suspended sentence that included drug testing and 120 hours of community service, according to court documents.
The felony charges were related to three separate incidents involving Taylor that occurred between late August 2014 and mid-May 2015.
In the first of those incidents, Taylor pleaded guilty to wounding his cousin in a shooting that occurred in August 2014. His cousin, Tyrone DaWayne Hinton, filed a civil lawsuit in August 2015, seeking compensatory and punitive damages for "substantial medical bills."
Last month, Taylor did not appear at a hearing related to Hinton's lawsuit, with Taylor's representatives telling Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza that the boxer was in Florida with no money and no intention of making it to the hearing, according to media reports.
A circuit judge had previously allowed Taylor to move to Florida so he could get back into boxing shape.
In the second incident he pleaded guilty to, Taylor fired a weapon and terrorized a family in January 2015, just after Little Rock's Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, according to court documents.
Taylor also pleaded guilty to the third incident, in which he punched Jason Condon in May 2015 while they were enrolled in a rehabilitation program together.
Last year, Condon filed a lawsuit against Taylor and the company that runs the rehabilitation center, seeking damages for injuries and medical expenses, among other complaints.
Muskie Harris, an intervention specialist, testified in support of Taylor last year and said Tuesday that the boxer's social living skills are low and need to be redeveloped.
"I'm always going to stand in his corner," said Harris, who began working with Taylor after the shooting in 2014.
Circuit Judge Leon Johnson warned Taylor last year that he could send the boxer to prison for breaking the law or otherwise violating the terms of his sentence.
Information for this article was contributed by John Lynch and Brandon Mulder of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Metro on 07/19/2017