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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer 6y

LSU suspends Tyler Taylor who is accused of helping burglary

College Football, LSU Tigers

LSU suspended linebacker Tyler Taylor on Wednesday after learning he'd been arrested in Georgia for allegedly serving as the getaway driver in the January burglary of a pawnshop.

According to a Cumming (Georgia) Police Department incident report, three men and a juvenile broke into the pawnshop by shattering the front door with a rock and hammer around 2:45 a.m. on Jan. 8. Police allege they fled the scene in a truck that Taylor was driving.

According to the incident report, eight shotguns, three rifles and a semi-automatic rifle were stolen. Police have recovered some of the guns, according to records.

After a months-long investigation, Taylor, 19, was arrested on May 31 and charged with felony conspiracy to commit a crime, felony party to a crime (second-degree burglary, theft by taking and second-degree criminal damage to property) and felony theft by receiving stolen property. He was released on $33,550 bond.

Taylor, a sophomore from Buford, Georgia, has not been formally charged by the Forsyth County District Attorney's Office, according to court records.

Details of his arrest were first reported by the Baton Rouge (Louisiana) Advocate.

After learning of Taylor's arrest on Wednesday, LSU officials suspended him indefinitely for violation of team rules.

The police incident report contained Taylor's cellphone records, which indicated his phone "pinged at the pawn shop on the morning of the burglary." The report said another person arrested for the burglary told a police officer that Taylor was involved. Police also have surveillance video of the burglary.

"Taylor did not get out of the vehicle and assist in breaking into the pawn shop, but did drive all parties to the location and drove all parties away after the burglary had been committed," the incident report says. "Taylor, when spoke to, chose not to speak to law enforcement and wanted to seek legal representation."

Motor vehicle records show that Taylor's mother, Akita Taylor, owns the 2016 Ford F150 truck that he was driving.

Two of the men who are charged in the Jan. 8 burglary are also accused of breaking into the same pawnshop on Christmas Day 2017. Jordan Moore, one of the men charged in the Jan. 8 burglary, denied participating in the heist. But police searched his cellphone and found photos of the stolen guns and "video of him talking about how law enforcement will never be able to catch them."

Taylor, who played in 13 games and started five as a true freshman in 2017, participated in spring practice after his arrest in May and was on the field for the Tigers' first few practices of preseason camp. He had 32 tackles and 1½ sacks in 2017 and was battling for a starting job this season.

Last week, LSU coach Ed Orgeron announced that Ed Ingram, who started 12 games at right guard as a freshman in 2017, is suspended indefinitely because of an unspecified violation of team rules.

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