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A San Francisco-based homeless parolee has been charged with threatening San Mateo County Sheriff Cristina Corpus following allegations that she sent homophobic texts.
James Taylor, 37, was charged on March 18 with two counts of making criminal threats and two counts of threatening a sheriff, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Taylor allegedly threatened Corpus twice while in custody at a San Mateo County correctional facility: first on Oct. 29, 2024 through a grievance form and again verbally to a therapist on Feb. 18. In the grievance form, Taylor allegedly wrote he would do something “severe” to Corpus, remarked that physically assaulting her would be humorous, and warned that deputies would need to draw their weapons if he encountered her.
On Feb. 18, Taylor reportedly told a therapist that he planned to kill Corpus using a trash bin or metal tray rack, citing her alleged anti-LGBTQ comments.
A report commissioned by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors into Corpus found that she texted homophobic slurs about an unnamed lesbian city official. Supervisor Ray Mueller shared a forensic report from Cellebrite, a company that specializes in investigative software, he claims it definitively proves she sent the texts.
Corpus denies sending those texts.
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the case. Corpus was not immediately available for comment.
Taylor was released and posted a $10,000 bail bond on March 26 after Commissioner Jugo Borja denied the District Attorney’s Office’s request to set bail at $50,000.
Taylor’s next court date is on April 3.
