Tylor Michael

Tylor Michael is being charged as a habitual criminal and has pleaded not guilty on charges of attempted strangulation of a household member, possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), domestic battery and interference with a police officer, as well as theft of a cellphone and credit card. Michael has resided in Powell for the past couple of months. 

Michael’s bond was reduced to $25,000 cash or surety with a bonding agency.

All six charges stem from an April 4 incident during which Michael allegedly put his girlfriend in a chokehold.

According to an affidavit written by Powell Police Officer Caleb Schmidt, Michael had a verbal dispute with his girlfriend of two months.  He produced a syringe, which he loaded with bleach, and threatened to kill himself before his girlfriend was able to convince him to sleep.

Another verbal argument occurred that night, during which Michael pulled his girlfriend toward him and placed her in a chokehold. Michael pressed her head against the mattress for roughly two minutes before his girlfriend was able to free herself. Michael’s girlfriend went to her mother’s house, where she called the police. 

Schmidt and Officer David Salters responded to the residence and were advised that Michael was most likely armed with knives. 

While approaching the apartment building, a male exited the “apartment at the bottom of the stairs” and began running from the officers when Schmidt called out “Tylor.” He was unresponsive to requests to stop and was lost in pursuit. 

Schmidt and Salters later arrived at the residence Michael was believed to be staying at. According to the affidavit, Schmidt could see Tylor through the window, but he was not responsive to requests to open the door. The officers were let in by the residence’s owner, who informed them that Michael had most likely gone downstairs. 

Schmidt and Salters later found Michael hiding in a closet downstairs, and upon searching him at the police station discovered two small baggies of methamphetamine on his person. It was Michael’s fifth possession of illegal drugs.

Michael’s girlfriend requested to press charges over her phone, which he allegedly stole from her. She claims the phone is worth $90 and had just been loaded with $45 of minutes.

While reviewing Michael’s belongings “prior to incarceration,” Sgt. Dustin DelBiaggio said in an affidavit,  he found a Target RedCard listed to an unknown female.

“As soon as I removed the card, Tylor spontaneously told me the card belonged to his ex-girlfriend,” DelBiaggio said in the affidavit.

Following further investigation,  Sgts. Sean Alquist and DelBiaggio discovered that Michael had stolen the Target RedCard as well as several other debit and credit cards and a pink pistol from his ex-girlfriend’s house in Colorado. 

Michael had previously lived at the Colorado residence after meeting the woman through “a friend of a friend.” He was allowed to stay for several days before the woman attempted to evict him. Michael refused to leave, according to the affidavit. The woman eventually moved out of the residence and obtained a protection order. She did not report the theft of the Target RedCard because she did not know how, but she informed Alquist that Michael did not have permission to possess the card.

A jury trial is scheduled for Aug. 8, 2022. 

If Michael is found guilty of attempted strangulation of a household member, possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), domestic battery and interference with a police officer, as well as two counts of theft, he will face 10-50 years in prison due to his prior felony convictions, which classify him as a habitual criminal.