Crime & Safety

Man Accused Of Killing DEA Agent Had Bonded Out Of Dublin Prison

Darrion Taylor left jail after paying just 10 percent of his bail. Authorities disagree about the role the pandemic played in his release.

Darrion Taylor, who is accused of killing a DEA agent in Arizona earlier this month before suffering a fatal gunshot wound, posted just $25,500 in bail money to gain his release from prison last December. His bail had been set at $255,000 in 2020.
Darrion Taylor, who is accused of killing a DEA agent in Arizona earlier this month before suffering a fatal gunshot wound, posted just $25,500 in bail money to gain his release from prison last December. His bail had been set at $255,000 in 2020. (Shutterstock )

OAKLAND, CA —The man accused of killing a DEA agent earlier this month on an Amtrak train in Arizona, before suffering fatal gunshot wounds himself, had bonded out of Santa Rita Jail in Dublin late last year after paying just 10 percent of his set bail, according to a report by Tucson.com.

According to reports, Darrion Taylor, 26, was facing several violent charges when he posted $25,500 in bail money on Dec. 29, 2020. His bail had been set at $255,000 in Aug. 21, 2020.

Sergeant Raymond Kelly, public information officer for the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, called the Oct. 4 incident - in which another DEA agent and a Tucson, Arizona police officer also were wounded -a preventable tragedy.

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"It's a disaster, it's a disaster," Kelly told Tucson.com. "Everybody involved in the criminal justice system will tell you the same thing."

Kelly told Tucson.com that Taylor was only eligible for a reduced bail because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that Taylor likely would not have been eligible for bail before the pandemic.

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"The judicial council of California has come up with the zero-bail program," Kelly said. "So we have people normally that would stay in custody are now getting bails and being released due to the COVID pandemic."

However, the Alameda County's District Attorney's Office said Taylor's bail was set by a presiding judge using California's pre-COVID bond schedule.

According to reports, Taylor had been wanted in Sacramento on a $200,000 warrant for an incident where he was accused of robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and cruelty toward a child after allegedly firing into a residence.

While at the police station on those charges, Taylor reportedly lunged at a police officer and attempted to remove his firearm.

Taylor originally was charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, but eventually had the charges reduced to assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest, Kelly told Tucson.com.

On Oct. 4, according to court documents, Taylor was on an Amtrak train in downtown Tucson, when agents said they say observed Taylor and another man, Devonte Okeith Mathis, sitting in the same row, but on different sides of the aisle.

Agents said they saw Mathis move several bags a few rows away and return to his seat. An agent opened the bag and found marijuana and related products, according to court documents.

A shootout began when agents tried to make contact with Taylor.

AZFamily.com reported that Taylor shot and killed DEA agent Michael Garbo. Taylor then barricaded himself in a train bathroom, and was later found dead inside.

Initial reports suggested Taylor may have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. But on Oct. 6, Pima County Medical Examiner Dr. Gregory Hess said the the cause of death was gunshot wounds of the trunk and extremities, and the gunshot wounds were not self-inflicted.

Mathis was arrested after officers linked him to bags that contained about 2.39 kilograms of marijuana, marijuana edibles and other products related to the drugs, according to court documents.


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