Johnston Edward Taylor, the man previously sentenced in connection with the 2019 crash that killed Auburn University broadcaster Rod Bramblett and his wife, Paula, is back in the Lee County Jail.
According to the Lee County Jail booking information, Taylor, 23, was booked on September 29, 2026, on a charge of probation violation. The booking record lists his bond status as “No Bond.”
Taylor’s latest arrest comes after a series of criminal and court cases dating back to the 2019 crash.
On May 25, 2019, Taylor was 16 when the vehicle he was driving struck the Brambletts’ SUV at the intersection of Shug Jordan Parkway and West Samford Avenue in Auburn.
Auburn police said the vehicle was traveling well above the posted 55 mph speed limit, and a toxicology report showed marijuana was present in Taylor’s system. Taylor was subsequently charged with two counts of manslaughter.
The Brambletts both died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. Rod Bramblett was widely known as the longtime voice of Auburn Tigers athletics, while Paula Bramblett worked for Auburn University.
Taylor’s 2019 case was ultimately handled under youthful offender status, and the specific terms of his 2021 sentence were not made public.
In June 2022, Taylor was arrested again, this time following an investigation by the Auburn Police Division and the Alabama Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Investigators said the investigation began June 7, 2022, and resulted in a search warrant and the collection of evidence. Taylor was charged with six counts of possession of child pornography and initially held on a $60,000 bond.
Taylor later pleaded guilty to three counts as part of a plea agreement. He was also charged in 2023 with illegally using synthetic urine to defeat a drug screening that was a condition of his bond. Court records cited by WAKA said he used a bottle of urine with a hand warmer wrapped around it. He received a six-month jail sentence on that charge, with credit for time served.
On March 15, 2024, Taylor was sentenced in the child pornography case to a 10-year split sentence, with three years to serve in prison followed by six years of probation. He received credit for 494 days already served and was required to register as a sex offender.
Taylor was later transferred from the Lee County Jail to Kilby Correctional Facility to serve the remaining portion of that sentence. At the time, officials reported that his earliest possible release date was March 14, 2026.
Now, more than six years after the Bramblett crash and more than two years after his child pornography sentence, Taylor is again listed in the Lee County Jail.
The current booking record identifies the charge only as “Probation Violation.” It does not provide additional details about what allegedly caused the violation.
