Bond Set at $500K for Casper Hospital Shooting Suspect
A judge on Tuesday set a bond amount for the 20-year-old man accused of firing several rounds inside a Casper hospital early Monday.
Natrona County Circuit Court Judge Steven Brown set bond for Mitchell D. Taylor at $500,000 cash or surety. Taylor is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and felony property damage.
Taylor could face up to 35 years in prison if convicted of all four charges.
No injuries were reported in connection with the shooting, which took place inside Wyoming Medical Center at roughly 1 a.m. Monday.
As the charges are all felonies, Taylor did not enter a plea during the hearing Tuesday afternoon. A preliminary hearing will next be held to determine whether prosecutors have probable cause to back their charges -- a hearing which Taylor could waive -- and before Taylor would be arraigned in Natrona County District Court.
"I was in the hospital seeking help," Taylor told Brown on Tuesday. "I have no recollection [of the incident]."
Brown then interjected telling Taylor not to discuss the case in a setting where his statements could be used against him by the prosecution.
A preliminary hearing will be held within the next two weeks, should Taylor remain incarcerated.
According to an affidavit provided to reporters earlier Tuesday, police officers on Monday used a Taser to subdue Taylor after he allegedly tried to run from them. Taylor then allegedly resisted arrest before he was ultimately taken into custody.
Later, Taylor allegedly told a detective that he had taken LSD, or acid, Sunday evening. He then said that he drove around, felt as though he wanted to take his own life and drove to the hospital to seek help.
He remembered parking his vehicle and entering the hospital, but he did not find anyone to assist him. After standing with his back against the wall while holding his gun, Taylor told detectives, he didn't remember anything else other than discharging the handgun.