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Jason Taylor's road-rage case settled: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The hate-crime charges against a Davie man involved in a road-rage incident with Miami Dolphins star Jason Taylor were reduced in a plea deal that resulted in a year's probation and a fine.

Redmond Charles Burns, 25, pled out to resisting arrest without violence, battery and culpable negligence on May 1 in Broward County Court. According to a State Attorney's Office memo, charges of battery (hate crime) were not pursued in part because Taylor and his wife, Katina, were reluctant to cooperate, fearing publicity and retaliation.

Seth Levit, spokesman for the Jason Taylor Foundation, said Taylor was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Burns was arrested by Davie police after an April 30, 2006 incident, when police reports state he drove the Taylors' black Infiniti SUV off the road at the intersection of Southwest 130th Avenue and Eighth Street. Burns was initially charged with battery (hate crime) after Jason Taylor said Burns used racial epithets after exiting his red pickup truck. The report also said that Burns tried to stab Jason Taylor with a metal object, but it only resulted in a minor cut on his left forearm. Burns' plea deal calls for random urine tests, a ban on contact with the Taylors and a $228 fine, which doesn't include court fees of $51.

During Burns' arrest, he kicked and punched an officer and later kicked at a cruiser window before being pepper-sprayed, which resulted in a charge of resisting arrest with violence. As a part of the plea deal, the charge was reduced to resisting without violence.

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