'The Bachelorette' Alum Arrested for DUI, Found With 'Impaired' 18-Year-Old Student

By Ashley Turner

A Bachelorette star is in trouble with the law. Early Saturday morning, College Station police arrested singer, songwriter, and reality TV contestant James McCoy Taylor in Texas. He was charged with driving while intoxicated, unlawfully carrying a weapon, and was detained at the Brazos County Detention Center, reported KWTX. According to online jail records, Taylor, 36, was released later that day on bonds totaling $6,000.

An off-duty Blinn College officer approached Taylor in the Northgate Parking Garage around 2:45 a.m., according to a probable cause statement filed by College Station Police. Taylor was urinating in the parking lot near his 2012 Ford F150 pickup, the officer said. After speaking with Taylor, the officer instructed him not to urinate near the truck and not to drive the Ford F150. While Taylor assured the officer he would not operate his vehicle and would find a way to leave, he returned to his pickup truck moments later and drove away, according to the report.

An officer found Taylor heading toward the exit gate in the garage after College Station police were notified of the incident. In the arrest report, he explained that he was just moving his truck to get a better cell phone signal. According to police, they had to enter the truck and turn off the ignition before directing Taylor to exit.

Officers described Taylor as having glassy eyes, slurred speech, and smelling of alcohol while swaying backward and forwards. Between 10 p.m. Friday and 1 a.m. Saturday, he reportedly consumed six drinks at several different bars. In their arrest report, the police noted that Taylor's 18-year-old "college freshman companion" was also in the pickup, and he was planning to take her back to her dorm. Police wrote that she was impaired and "was not in any kind of condition to appraise the benefits and risks of the situation she was in."

Police arrested Taylor for driving under the influence after he failed field sobriety tests. During the arrest, police said he became verbally abusive and called the officer an idiot. At one point, he threatened to have the officer fired and to press charges against him. During Taylor's arrest, police found a handgun in his truck's driver's door pocket. Texas law prohibits carrying a weapon while committing a crime, such as driving under the influence. Taylor is an American singer and songwriter best known for appearing on The Bachelorette: Season 12. Following several media reports last year that he was part of the January 6 capitol riot, he threatened to sue the outlets for slander. 

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