Taylor enters plea Thursday afternoon

Former Whitley County Jailer Jerry F. Taylor won’t have to go to prison thanks to a plea bargain he entered Thursday afternoon.
Taylor entered an Alford plea to five counts of forgery in exchange for prosecutors recommending five years probation. An Alford Plea means Taylor still maintains his innocence, but concedes that prosecutors probably had enough evidence to convict him had the case gone to trial.
Special Judge William Cain scheduled formal sentencing for Nov. 14. During that sentencing hearing, the remaining 14 charges against Taylor will be dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Taylor was indicted on Sept. 14, on five counts of forgery, five counts of theft by unlawful taking over $300, and for four counts each of trafficking in a controlled substance and promoting contraband. In addition, Taylor was also indicted for misfeasance and/or malfeasance in office and/or willful neglect in the discharge of his official duties, which is a misdemeanor offense.
Special Prosecutor Eddie Montgomery said Taylor has already complied with two other provisions of the plea agreement. One called for him to resign as jailer, which he did on Sept. 30 citing health reasons. The second condition of the deal called for Taylor to pay restitution to the county in regards to the forgery charge, which has already been done.
Montgomery said that because of the plea deal, he does not plan to seek additional charges against Taylor.
Taylor’s son and former chief deputy jailer Jerry Allen Taylor was indicted last month for seven counts of trafficking in a controlled substance and for seven counts of promoting contraband. He pleaded not guilty Thursday, and a hearing has been set for Nov. 14 in his case.
Jerry F. Taylor, Jerry Allen Taylor, and their attorney, Ron Reynolds, all declined to comment to the media following the arraignment Thursday.