DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) -The man who police charged with shooting Dothan businessman Blake Bowen as he drove along a busy highway on Friday was placed on 3 years probation only a few months ago. That sentence came after Michael T. Taylor pleaded guilty to burglary and telling court officials he wanted to put the past behind him.

Houston County court documents show Taylor, 24, admitted burglarizing an unoccupied home, and other charges he faced were dismissed in October. Such plea agreements are not unusual, and Taylor’s sentence complied with state judicial guidelines.

His Houston County cases had been put on hold because he was serving a federal sentence on weapon violations involving the thefts from a Dothan business.

In a letter dated April 7, 2025, Taylor said his Houston County charges blocked his release to a halfway house to complete his federal sentence.

“I am just trying to put the past in the past and start a new future,” he wrote the county court clerk’s office.

By October, he had resolved the charges and seemed poised for a new beginning.

However, according to police, Taylor shot 33-year-old Bowen, with whom he had been riding; the truck plunged into a pond after running off Ross Clark Circle. Police believe robbery was Taylor’s motive.

A nearby surveillance camera captured a man running from the scene, and about two hours later officers captured Taylor about a half-mile from the shooting scene.

Taylor is held without bond, and because he is accused of a capital offense, he likely will not be granted bond, keeping him behind bars until his trial.

It will be up to Houston County District Attorney Russ Goodman whether to seek the death penalty. Even if he doesn’t, Taylor would be confined to an Alabama prison for the remainder of his life if jurors convict him of capital murder.

Records did not immediately reveal an attorney to speak on Taylor’s behalf and police did not reveal the relationship between Bowen and his suspected killer.

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