Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that today Joseph Taylor (age 18), with a last known address of 52 Cumerford Street, Providence, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Justice William Carnes to his role in the May 14, 2014 drive-by shooting that killed Davon Taylor and injured Destiny Taylor, no relation to the defendant.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, which was reached with the approval of the victims, Joseph Taylor was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years suspended with probation, non-parolable.
Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove that at approximately 4:00 p.m. on May 14, 2014, Joseph Taylor fired a .9 mm firearm out of the sunroof of a vehicle of which he was a passenger into the motor vehicle being driven by 20-year-old Davon Taylor. Bullets struck and killed Davon Taylor and injured his younger sister Destiny, who was 15 at the time.
It is believed that Joseph Taylor shot Davon Taylor simply because the two lived in rival neighborhoods. Destiny Taylor identified Joseph Taylor as the shooter.
"A young father and older brother is senselessly murdered over a meaningless and trivial turf war. Yet, the facts of this case – another inner city youth armed with a gun causing the death of another - are all too common. On his 18th birthday, Joseph Taylor chose to commit murder, and now he faces a life in prison, as he should for his reckless decisions and violent actions."
Providence Police Detectives Steven Sullivan and Daniel O'Connell led the investigation. Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Juvenile Prosecution Unit John Moreira, along with Special Assistant Attorneys General Joseph McBurney and Jeffrey Morin prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.