Kelvin Rovon K.J. Taylor was 18 and a senior at Capital High School in Charleston, West Virginia, when he was shot and killed on the evening of April 7, 2021. Standing at the corner of Glenwood and Central Avenue on Charleston’s West Side, he was struck in the chest by gunfire from a passing Ford F-150 and died despite first responders’ efforts. Taylor was a student-athlete who planned to study sports medicine and was remembered for his smile and athletic ability.

Investigators used surveillance footage to identify a suspicious vehicle and a person of interest. Nineteen-year-old Dekotis Elijah Thomas was arrested in Akron, Ohio, on July 8, 2021, and later indicted for first-degree murder. Reports say Taylor was not the intended target; the shots were meant for someone else standing nearby. Thomas entered a Kennedy plea to first-degree murder in August 2022 and was sentenced in December 2022 to life without parole. K.J. Taylor’s family described profound and enduring loss at the sentencing.

If anyone knew K.J., saw the area that night, or has information about who was in that Ford F-150, please come forward.