According to the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, a South Carolina man has been sentenced to jail after being convicted of murder.
Following a weeklong trial that ended on September 19, North Charleston resident Quinton Anthony Taylor, dubbed a “hitman,” was sentenced to life in prison, according to a Solicitor’s Office press release.
According to the announcement, a Charleston County jury also convicted Taylor, 41, of possessing a weapon while committing a violent offense.
The Solicitor’s Office stated the accusations stem from a fatal shooting on May 6, 2020.
According to the release, Taylor shot the man six times as he walked out of a house on Gullah Avenue in North Charleston around 4:40 a.m. Taylor had been watching the victim for several days using a GPS tracker installed on the victim’s car, according to the Solicitor’s Office.
The North Charleston Police Department reacted and obtained video footage of the gunshot from multiple adjacent homes and businesses, according to the release. Officers reportedly observed a black Dodge Ram pickup truck circling the area from the time the victim arrived, three hours before the firing, and immediately following the shooting, according to the Solicitor’s Office. Taylor rented the truck from Enterprise, providing his address, phone number, and email address, according to the announcement.
According to the Solicitor’s Office, officers stopped Taylor in his Dodge Ram 12 hours after the shooting occurred. According to the statement, authorities discovered Taylor’s iPhone, a black T-shirt, and a purple Crown Royal bag containing a black ski mask and $11,300 cash inside the rental truck.
The Solicitor’s Office stated that investigators discovered a number of text messages and phone calls on Taylor’s iPhone from 9 days before the victim’s death to the hours following the shooting, including a message with a single word: “Done.”
According to the announcement, detectives discovered that Taylor was recruited to kill the victim by an inmate at Evans Correctional Institution in Bennettsville, who has subsequently been charged with accessory before the fact of murder. It was unclear why the inmate wanted the victim dead.
Police discovered that the inmate conspired with a third person to pay Taylor, and cell tower location data revealed that Taylor and the third party met briefly in West Ashley just hours before Taylor was captured by police, according to the Solicitor’s Office. There was no information on whether the third party was facing criminal charges.
According to the announcement, crime scene investigators discovered a single unfired bullet in Taylor’s residence that was the same brand and caliber as the fired round casings from the crime site.
According to the Solicitor’s Office, Taylor had previously been convicted of third-degree burglary, unlawful carrying of a pistol, disturbing schools, unlawful use of a telephone, breaking and entering a motor vehicle, possession of cocaine base, possession of marijuana, possession of a stolen vehicle, and possession of a firearm.
The case was prosecuted by Managing Assistant Solicitor Daniel Cooper and Assistant Solicitor Catherine Fries on behalf of the Solicitors Office. According to Charleston County court records, Taylor was represented by Lowcountry attorneys Peter McCoy and Melisa Gay.
