On October 22, 2023, 20-year-old Roderick Wilson Jr. was found dead in the parking lot of the Pentecostal Church of God at 1261 34th Street NW in Winter Haven, Florida. Deputies arrived after a passerby called about 1:47 a.m. and found Wilson with multiple gunshot wounds; the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Investigations and Crime Scene Investigations units processed the scene. Wilson had been living in an apartment on the church property where his father serves as pastor.

Security video from a nearby building captured the killing and helped detectives identify 22-year-old Taquion Quan Cotton as a suspect. Detectives located Cotton later that afternoon near the scene; he tried to flee, entered a nearby residence, battered a woman and put her in a chokehold. Cotton’s mother intervened, and deputies used a Taser after he bit her while resisting. Detectives charged Cotton with first-degree murder and numerous other felonies, and authorities have offered a $5,000 reward for recovery of the firearm. The motive is under investigation, and investigators say there is no indication the victim and suspect knew each other beforehand.

If anyone has information about what led to Wilson being targeted or the location of the firearm, contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.