A 17 year-old boy is facing felony charges after police stopped him riding a bicycle at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning with a bag of cash he planned to use to runaway with his 14-year-old girlfriend, according to a criminal complaint by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office.
Darren Taylor, 17, of Racine, was charged by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office as an adult with felony counts of receiving stolen property from a child over $2,500, intent to contribute to the delinquency of a child, and receiving stolen property.
If convicted of all charges, Taylor faces up to 19 years six months in prison, and fines up to $45,000.
According to the criminal complaint, Taylor was riding a bicycle at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning carrying three large bags. Inside the bags, police found $3,000, a white Samsung Tablet, and Planned Parenthood documents. In the other bags, they found men and women’s clothing, alcohol, food, birth control and a large amount of condoms.
Police learned that Taylor and his 14-year-old girlfriend had planned to runaway to New York together and his girlfriend had taken the money from her step-father. The girl, who is not being named because she is a juvenile, told police that she knew Taylor had been having trouble with his family and she didn’t want him to be alone “because she loves him” and she would have taken more money “if it would have been there.”
A preliminary hearing has been set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 22.