O.C. deputy leaves amid investigation

The veteran Orange County sheriff’s deputy on duty at a jail when an inmate was stomped to death by other prisoners has left the Sheriff’s Department.

After 10 months on paid leave, Deputy Kevin Taylor’s last day was Wednesday. The department’s disciplinary records are private, so it is not clear if he resigned or was fired.

Taylor is the eighth sheriff’s employee to leave amid a grand jury investigation into the 2006 death. The grand jury found that John Derek Chamberlain, 41, was beaten to death while Taylor watched television nearby. Taylor was not charged.

Suspects in the killing told investigators that Taylor and another deputy ordered them to attack Chamberlain because the deputies labeled him a child molester. Chamberlain was awaiting trial on charges of possessing child pornography.