Louis Taylor, who served four decades in prison for the downtown Pioneer Hotel fire in 1970, was arrested Thursday in connection to an armed robbery.
Taylor, 63, is a suspect in an armed robbery at Riverpark Inn, 777 W. Cushing St., that occurred last month, according to a Tucson Police Department Facebook post.
Video and forensic evidence collected at the scene resulted in a positive identification of Taylor, states the post.
A man captured on video surveillance at the inn shows that the man walked behind the counter where the clerk was standing. Police said he confronted the clerk and produced a baseball bat while demanding money from the register.
The man was given an undisclosed amount of money and he assaulted the clerk, causing minor injuries, before he fled the hotel and headed north, said police.
On Thursday, officers from the Downtown District located Taylor and he was booked into the Pima County jail for armed robbery and kidnapping, police said.
Anyone with information in the case is asked to call 911 or 88-CRIME, an anonymous tipster hotline.
In 2013, Taylor was released from prison after spending 42 years behind bars after a Phoenix jury convicted him of the arson deaths of 28 of 29 people who died in and after the hotel fire.
Advocates for Taylor had long crusaded to get him released from prison on the fire case, claiming evidence used against him was faulty and insufficient, but prosecutors maintained he was guilty. He was 16 at the time of the fire.
Taylor was released from prison after he pleaded no contest in the deaths as part of a deal worked out with the Pima County Attorney's Office and the Arizona Justice Project, according to a Star article. The agreement set aside Taylor's original conviction and gave him credit for time served.
Taylor maintained his innocence and the prosecutor's office insisted the deal did not exonerate him of wrongdoing.
In interviews after his release, Taylor said he had trouble finding work and adjusting to life outside of prison.
