Bono, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – A Forrest City man previously arrested for a threatening letter campaign in Paragould is now facing additional charges for similar harassment in Craighead County.
Cody Dale Taylor, 26, was arrested by Bono police officers at 9:35 a.m., Sept. 16. and booked into the Craighead County Detention Center, the inmate roster shows.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on May 4, a resident came into the Bono Police Department and reported receiving six letters in the mail.
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The letters, which were forged to appear as though they were sent by two other individuals, contained threats against the recipient and their family members including those of bodily harm and rape, the affidavit said.
Two days later, 13 additional letters arrived at the home. Bono police left the new letters unopened and forwarded them to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for DNA and fingerprint evaluation.
The breakthrough in the Bono case came months later, stemming from a parallel, nearly year-long investigation by the Paragould Police Department.
Another probable cause affidavit from the Paragould Police Department said Taylor mailed forged letters containing threats to kill, kidnap, and stalk local school and public officials and private citizens. Investigators identified Taylor following a Sept. 5 crime tip, leading to his initial arrest on Sept. 12.
Following his arrest in Greene County, Taylor was interviewed by Bono police on Sept. 14.
During the interview, police said Taylor admitted to mailing the letters to the victim, noting they had previously worked together until recently.
Investigators said Taylor was attempting to instigate a conflict between the victim and the two individuals whose names were forged on the envelopes. According to the affidavit, the harassment was allegedly carried out in retaliation for how those two individuals had treated Taylor during and after their time in school.
On Sept. 16, Taylor appeared before Judge Barbara Halsey, who found probable cause to charge him with the following offenses:
- Stalking (Class B felony)
- Second-degree forgery (Class C felony)
- First-degree terroristic threatening/threatens physical injury (Class D felony)
- Harassing communications (Class A misdemeanor)
Taylor was released from the Craighead County Detention Center at 2:41 p.m. after his probable cause hearing. He was being held on a $100,000 cash/surety bond.
In the Paragould case, Taylor faces 135 offenses including 23 counts of forgery and 15 counts of terroristic threatening. On Monday, he was given a $750,000 cash/surety bond by District Judge Curtis Hill. The Greene County Sheriff’s Office told JRN that Taylor is still being held in the Greene County Detention Center as of Wednesday.
Taylor has no contact orders with all the victims in both cases, the affidavits note. His next court date for the Craighead County case is scheduled for Oct. 26.
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