Police: Murder Suspect's Brother Shot At Witness
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A witness of the March 14 murder of cab driver William Harper told Minneapolis Police that he was shot at various times by the suspect's juvenile brother.
Homicide Sergeant Christopher Granger interviewed the murder witness who claimed that Josiah Kemaris Taylor, brother of suspected murderer Samuel Johosephat Taylor, shot at him on two separate occasions in north Minneapolis.
The first shooting occurred on March 24, when the witness encountered Josiah Taylor near the 3300 block of Lyndale Avenue North. Taylor and another male threatened the witness and fired a handgun at him. The witness was not hit.
Later that day, the witness ran into Taylor and the unidentified male again, this time in downtown. Taylor told the witness that his brother believed he was a "snitch."
Two days later, Taylor pulled alongside the witness in a vehicle near 37th Avenue North and 6th Street and fired several rounds at the witness's car. He was unhurt from the attack.
Sgt. Granger issued a probable cause pick-up for Josiah Taylor, who was 17 years old at the time. Taylor turned himself in on April 5. He was charged as an adult with one count of Tampering with a Witness in the First Degree.
During his body search, a 9mm bullet was found in his pants pocket, leading to an additional charge of one count of Dangerous Weapon in a Courthouse (or ammunition).
