Murder, homicide charges added for teen in officer’s death
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — New charges have been added for Devaron Taylor, the 17-year-old charged in a deadly shootout with police last week.
Taylor will be charged with Second Degree Murder and Reckless Homicide, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Taylor remains hospitalized.
Taylor was already charged with 13 counts of Criminal Attempt First Degree Murder, 13 counts of Assault Against First Responder, and 13 counts of Aggravated Assault.
Second-Degree Murder carries a potential sentence of 15-25 years. Reckless Homicide carries a potential sentence of 2-4 years.
That means the new charges, with the application of consecutive sentencing, could result in a cumulative sentence of more than 300 years, Mulroy’s office said.
“Let me be clear about this,” Mulroy said in a news release.“There is only one person responsible for the death of Officer McKinney, and that’s the person we’re charging.”
Earlier this week, the D.A.’s office announced they were not proceeding with a murder charge against Taylor because “current information indicates that Officer (Joseph) McKinney was killed by friendly fire.”
MPD officer may have been killed by ‘friendly fire,’ D.A.’s office says
A spokesperson with Mulroy’s office said Friday that information still indicates that Officer McKinney was killed by friendly fire, but continued, “we believe the 17-year-old’s reprehensible actions are still the real cause of Officer McKinney’s death. Should a legal avenue open up for additional prosecution, be assured we will pursue it.”
In 2022, Taylor was charged with three counts of aggravated robbery, according to juvenile court records.
District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced Wednesday that he plans to charge Taylor as an adult.
On April 12, Memphis Police Officer Joseph McKinney and 18-year-old Jaylen Lobley were killed after an exchange of gunfire.
Two other officers and another suspect were also wounded during the shooting.
District Attorney Steve Mulroy on Friday announced his office was not pursuing criminal charges against MPD officers involved in the shootout, saying their use of force was justified and reasonable.
No charges against MPD officers after shootout
Memphis Police say it all started when they responded to a suspicious vehicle call at 2 a.m. on Horn Lake Road and Charter Avenue.
Officers say as they approached the vehicle, a suspect fired shots at the officers, who returned fire. The vehicle fled the scene but was later found in the 400 block of Hewlett Road.
One suspect was captured immediately, while another ran from the scene and was found nearby, police say. The vehicle that the suspects were in was also reported stolen, according to Memphis Police.
Judge says release of teen in officer shooting ‘appropriate’
In March, Lobley was previously charged with two stolen vehicles and a programming device used to steal cars. This comes after he was arrested in a stolen vehicle with an illegal, modified semi-automatic weapon with a Glock switch that upgraded it to fully automatic.
He was released without bond.
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