KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Gary Taylor left his mother's house on April 25 to work security in the 18th and Vine District, she told him to be careful because "too many of us are losing our lives on 18th and Vine."
That night, Taylor was fatally shot and three others were wounded.
"He loved helping our young people. He just really did. He had a passion for just the right thing... He was a loving guy.," Latrice Taylor-Carroll, told media Thursday during a press briefing announcing charges in her son's death.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced Thursday that 29-year-old Jerronn Anderson faces first-degree murder and armed criminal action charges in connection to the shooting last month in the 18th and Vine District.
Scott Carroll, Taylor's stepfather, said during the briefing that during the shooting Taylor saved another person who was in the area.
"He was still trying to help people and be the protector that he is," Carroll said. "He felt that way. He wanted to be a certain way for everybody."
Court documents state that camera footage from the area showed a man, later identified as Anderson, shoot toward a man – later identified as Taylor – who then fell to the ground. Taylor was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Anderson was driven to an area hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds to the leg, according to the probable cause statement, and told detectives at the time he had been shot in the area of 39th Street and Topping Avenue.
Police were not able to locate a crime scene in that area.
In the days following the shooting, detectives located and received statements from two witnesses who said they were with Taylor that night, and another who had driven Anderson to the hospital. All three identified Anderson, who was arrested on May 19, in a photo lineup.
Carroll said he believes his stepson's case was solved so easily because "everybody knew him" and he loved the people and atmosphere in the 18th and Vine District.
Alexander Taylor, Gary Taylor's brother, said during the press briefing that he wants everyone who was touched by his brother's life and mindset to "continue to do the positive things that he talked to you about."
Prosecutors have requested a $250,000 bond for Anderson.
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