The Murder of Kelvin ‘KJ’ Taylor
For this case, I watched an episode of See No Evil. It’s season 12 episode 1, titled ‘Fallen Star.’
A high school student is shot while hanging out with a group of friends.
Background
Kelvin ‘KJ’ Taylor was born on September 19, 2002. He lived with his family in Charleston, West Virginia. KJ was a good student at Capital High School and a very gifted athlete. He played basketball and football, but football was where he shined. KJ had dreams of playing football at the University of West Virginia and returning to Charleston to build a training facility to help kids.
Kelvin ‘KJ’ Taylor
The Shooting
On April 7, 2021, KJ left his home around 5 pm to hang out with some of his friends. On his way out the door, he told his mom, Kara that he would be back later.
KJ and his friends went to the local community center to play basketball. From there, they went to a corner store called Sali’s on Central Avenue.
Around 8 pm, several calls were placed to 911 about a drive-by shooting at Sali’s. The police arrived in seconds to an already very chaotic scene.
KJ was identified as the victim. He had been shot once in the chest. Multiple people gathered around KJ and tried to give him CPR. KJ was rushed to the hospital, but unfortunately, he passed away.
The Truck
The eyewitnesses at the scene described that a truck had driven by and shot KJ.
The police found several bullet holes and bullet fragments from the windows and inside the corner store.
This had not been the first shooting that occurred at this corner store. The police were familiar with where the surveillance cameras were located and positioned.
KJ and his friends arrived at the corner store on their dirt bikes. They lingered outside the store for a few seconds. Within those few seconds, a truck was seen driving past at a high-rated speed. KJ then fell to the ground as he was shot.
The footage was too blurry to capture the license plate number or the person driving.
The Interaction
The police canvassed the area for other surveillance cameras. They found a camera on a nearby hardware store.
The truck could be seen driving past. This time, the police saw that there were two people inside the truck, one wearing a red shirt, and the other in a white shirt.
One of KJ’s friends was brought into the police station as he had been seen running away after KJ was shot. He said KJ didn’t have any problems with anyone and didn’t know of anyone who’d want to hurt him.
He said they had been at the nearby community center playing basketball before going to the corner store. The police theorized that maybe an argument could have been started while they were there or riding their dirt bikes in the street.
They obtained the surveillance footage from the community center. As KJ and his friends were in the street getting on their bikes, the suspect’s truck was seen driving past them. It appeared as if the truck had to swerve around the group as they were in the street.
The police located a nearby home that had a surveillance camera on the front of the house. The police were able to identify the truck as being a two-toned silver and gray Ford F-150. A video of the truck was released to the public.
The Oil Change
After the video of the truck was released, a woman contacted the Charleston police. She said she had been the previous owner of the truck but sold it, and described the make and model of it.
The police did a stakeout of the home where the new owner was believed to have been living. But there was no sign of the truck.
The truck was eventually located after a tip came in about it being parked between some trailers. The truck was seized and the police waited for a warrant to search the interior of the truck.
Another anonymous tip came in this time about the identity of a possible suspect. The suspect’s name was Dekotis Thomas, whom the police were very familiar with as he was known to be a violent person.
The license plate had been removed but the police found the truck’s identification number. They learned that an oil change had been done on April 7, the day of the murder.
The police traveled to the garage where the oil change had been done. The garage printed out a receipt from the transaction. From the surveillance footage, the police could see that Dekotis Thomas was their suspect. He was seen wearing a white shirt, and his passenger was in a red one.
The Manhunt
The police found the location of Dekotis’ last known address. A warrant was obtained for the trailer. There was no one inside, but a red hooded sweatshirt was found. The sweatshirt had a burn mark on it.
A burn mark was found on the passenger seat of the truck which matched the burn mark on the sweatshirt. A projected shell casing and bullet fragment were located inside the truck. Based on the evidence, the police determined that Dekotis was the shooter, not the unidentified passenger.
A warrant was obtained to ping Dektois’ cell phone. After Dektois dropped the truck off, he fled to Ohio. A reward was put out for any information on Dekotis’ location.
KJ was killed in April. The search for Dekotis went up until the beginning of August. An individual called the police with information about where Dekotis had been staying in Akron, Ohio.
The US Marshals closed in on the house. The standoff turned violent. Dekotis had barricaded himself inside and threw Malatov cocktails. One of the cocktails didn’t make it outside and it started the house on fire.
Dekotis attempted to flee through a window and ended up on the roof. He gave up and was helped down by the fire department. The US Marshals took him into custody.
The Conviction
Dekotis Thomas was found guilty of murdering KJ. On December 2, 2022, he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Dekotis admitted that he had been targeting one of KJ’s friends over a disagreement.
Dekotis Thomas
Other
The passenger from inside the truck was not identified.
In 2019, Thomas was charged with the death of another man named Antwan Curnell. However, the charge was dropped as part of a plea bargain agreement.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My heart truly breaks for KJ’s parents, friends, and loved ones. KJ left his home to hang out with his friends as I’m sure he did most days. He and his friends didn’t seem to be bothering anyone as they got onto their bikes. A high schooler lost his life all because of some stupid argument. Dekotis could have killed many others as he began firing on a very busy street. He deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison where he can’t hurt anyone else.
Sources
https://wchstv.com/news/local/man-pleads-guilty-to-murdering-kj-taylor
