The Automated License Plate Readers that the City of Carbondale installed earlier this year, alerted police officers to the presence of a 2013 Ford Taurus reported stolen from Wayne County, Illinois. The plate was detected in the area of East Main Street and Giant City Road.
Officers responded and located the vehicle parked at a business in the 1400 block of East Main Street. Officers identified the driver of the stolen vehicle as James R. Taylor, 53 years old of Granite City, Illinois. Taylor was arrested without incident.
The investigation revealed that Taylor was also responsible for stealing another vehicle from the 900 block of East Main Street in Carbondale on July 4th. That vehicle had been recovered in Wayne County. Taylor was charged with Theft Over $10,000 and Motor Vehicle Theft and was incarcerated in the Jackson County Jail. The investigation is active and ongoing.
