NO CHILD ENDANGERMENT CHARGE AFTER DUI ARREST

Dunwoody Republican was arrested on DUI count last week.

The children in the car with Rep. Tom Taylor when the Dunwoody Republican was arrested last week in Rabun County for driving under the influence were exchange students and aged 16 or older, a Taylor spokesman told the AJC on Friday.

That means he won’t face child endangerment charges.

Taylor, 54, is charged with driving under the influence, possession of an open container of alcohol and speeding. He was arrested by city of Clayton police on April 7 after being clocked driving 72 mph in a 45 mph. According to a police report, Taylor blew a .225 blood alcohol content and was carrying a pistol on his hip.

Mitch Baker, attorney for the city of Clayton, said had the children been under 14, Taylor would also face child endangerment charges. The children were exchange students who were with Taylor and his wife on a trip to Lake Burton, Taylor spokesman Brian Robinson said.

Taylor, first elected to the House in 2010, will also not face gun charges. John Monroe, lawyer for gun-rights group Georgia Carry, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that state law does not prohibit carrying a firearm while intoxicated.

“There is a law against discharging a firearm while intoxicated,” Monroe said. “That law somewhat mirrors the DUI statute. There is not a law against carrying while intoxicated, just like there is not a law against carrying car keys while intoxicated. Only when you use the instrumentality (car or gun) while intoxicated is it illegal.”

Taylor told the AJC on Thursday that he will seek re-election to his District 79 seat. He faces Tom Owens in the May 24 primary. Owens, a former candidate for DeKalb County Commission, called Taylor a “disgrace.”

“He is unfit to hold the office of Georgia state representative,” Owens said in a press release.

Taylor said he regrets “this serious mistake.”