NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Attorneys for Deja Taylor say she should be able to remain on bond despite acknowledging that she indeed broke the terms of it by testing positive for drugs.
Prosecutors asked for Taylor’s bond to be revoked in a Sept. 1 motion filed in federal court after she tested positive for marijuana July 19, and tested positive for cocaine and marijuana Aug. 25.
However, in response to that filing Sept. 13, her attorneys say she should remain on bond because she has shown progress in dealing with her substance abuse issues.
Also, they say that despite four positive drug tests since Aug. 25, the levels of the drugs are going down “and show that Ms. Taylor is abstaining from this drug.”
A motion hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 21 in Newport News.
They say the positive test for cocaine “was an aberration and likely caused from her use of marijuana unknowingly laced with cocaine,” and that she has had “regular and full compliance” with those running the Mental Health Services counseling program.
Taylor, the mother of the boy who shot his teacher in a Richneck Elementary School classroom, “does not dispute the factual assertion in the government’s motion. However, since the filing of the motion, there have been substantial positive development that counter the government’s strong objections to Ms. Taylor’s remaining on bond.”
Taylor had completed a substance abuse evaluation July 15 and was recommended to undergo individual treatment, but she did not go to scheduled treatment sessions Aug. 17 and Aug. 24.
In her attorneys’ filing, however, it said that, since Aug. 25 — the day after she failed to attend a scheduled treatment session, according to prosecutors — she has communicated and worked with her probation officer and her supervisor. The filing noted that both officers are “very pleased with and proud of her progress.”
Taylor pleaded guilty June 12 to a pair of charges in connection to the gun — unlawful use of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm and making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. She’s scheduled to be sentenced at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 18.
Her attorneys say she freely admits to having a “serious” substance abuse challenge.
“Her addiction is clearly a disease — nonetheless, revocation and incarceration are not the cures,” her attorneys state in the court filing. “We respectfully submit that a jail cell will only exacerbate the deep issues that she is facing.”
