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Thread: Death Penalty Pursued for Joshua Lemar Taylor in 2019 FL Slaying of Tashaun Jackson

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Death Penalty Pursued for Joshua Lemar Taylor in 2019 FL Slaying of Tashaun Jackson


    Tashaun Jackson





    State seeks death penalty against man charged with killing Cocoa mother of four

    By J.D. Gallop
    Florida Today

    The state attorney’s office filed notice this week that it plans to seek the death penalty against a man suspected of kidnapping a 31-year-old mother of four, then fatally shooting her and leaving her body in a remote stretch of Osceola County.

    Prosecutors examining the case file prepared by Cocoa police said the actions of Joshua Taylor were "especially cruel and calculated" to prevent Tashaun Jackson from testifying against him in another criminal case in which she was the victim.

    A grand jury indicted Taylor, 30, on charges of first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm, kidnapping while inflicting death, and possession of a firearm by a felon in connection with Jackson's Feb. 9 death.

    Jackson was reported missing Feb. 9 after she failed to return home during a quick errand to a nearby convenience store and a stop at McDonald’s.

    Cocoa police said Taylor, who completed a 12-year sentence in state prison for an unrelated carjacking charge last April, targeted Jackson when he learned she was cooperating as a witness against him in a burglary that took place at her home.

    Surveillance video showed Jackson at a 7-Eleven store, then leaving. Later, police said, Taylor found Jackson, got her into his car and drove her to Osceola County. Police said Taylor shot the mother the same day.

    Jackson's mother is now caring for the children. The family spoke out about the case, drawing attention to Taylor and Jackson's previous concerns about his behavior.

    Taylor remains held without bond at the Brevard County Jail in Sharpes. A court hearing on the case is set for July 23 at the Moore Justice Center in Viera.

    https://www.floridatoday.com/story/n...an/3508304002/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    July 30, 2019

    Family of woman found dead in Osceola County sues Cocoa apartment complex, accused killer

    By Tess Sheets
    Orlando Sentinel

    In the months leading up to her death, Tashaun Jackson felt increasingly unsafe at her Clear Pond Estates apartment in Cocoa.

    Joshua Taylor, a man who police said entered Jackson’s apartment unannounced one day in September and tried to sexually assault her, was stalking and threatening her, Jackson’s family said. She was killed in February, days after testifying against Taylor in the burglary and assault case.

    On Monday, Jackson’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Taylor and the apartment complex where Jackson lived, claiming it failed to protect Jackson, 31, and others by allowing Taylor to live there.

    “Our lives are forever changed,” Jackson’s aunt, Sharon Jones-Smith said Tuesday during a press conference at the Orlando Bar Association. “And what’s so sad about the situation is that it could have been prevented had the proper security been afforded to her that she was so deserving of as a resident in the Clear Pond Estate apartment.”

    The suit, filed in the 18th Judicial Circuit that encompasses Brevard County, alleges Evergreen Partners LLC, PMINC, Inc., and Hot Cacao Limited Partnership, companies that developed and manage Clear Pond Estate Apartments in Cocoa, failed to provide proper security measures that could have prevented Jackson’s death.

    Representatives for the companies did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday. The lawsuit does not include attorneys for the companies.

    Taylor was arrested Sept. 27 after Jackson told police he entered her apartment without her permission earlier that week and told her he “wanted her for a long time,” an arrest affidavit shows. He then tried to sexually assault her, Jackson said. Taylor was arrested by Cocoa police on charges of burglary with assault and attempted sexual battery.

    The lawsuit alleges Taylor had continued stalking Jackson at the apartment complex following his arrest, despite an order by a judge that prevented him from returning to the apartment complex or making contact with Jackson.

    Attorneys representing Jackson’s family said Taylor was living with another tenant at Clear Pond Estates and had not signed a lease.

    Greg Francis, the Orlando attorney representing Jackson’s family, said on Tuesday that the apartment complex’s management was aware Taylor was still living there after being arrested because Jackson and other women who lived there told them.

    “We’re saying to the apartment complex: You knew,” Francis said.

    But management failed to trespass Taylor from the property after the September incident and failed to provide proper security before or after the incident, such as surveillance cameras and guards, the suit claims.

    “[T]he criminal attack and murder of the Decedent, Tashaun Jackson, was reasonably foreseeable, and Defendant was in a superior position to appreciate such hazards and take necessary steps to prevent harm to its residents and invitees,” the lawsuit states.

    On the day Jackson provided a deposition in the burglary and assault case, Feb. 7, she told an employee of the apartment complex that “she was afraid of retribution" from Taylor, so the employee walked her to her apartment that night, the suit claims.

    Jackson was found dead six days later in a remote area of Osceola County. About two weeks later, Taylor was arrested by Brevard County deputies on a murder and kidnapping charges in connection with her death. Prosecutors in Brevard are seeking the death penalty against him, records show.

    A public defender who is representing Taylor in the murder case did not immediately respond to a call Tuesday.

    A “quirky” and fun-loving mother of four young girls, Jackson remained positive despite difficulties in her life, such as having to reside in government-funded housing like Clear Pond Estate, Jones-Smith said.

    “She made a great experience out of whatever situation she was in,” Jones-Smith said. " She didn’t have all of the great things but she was able to provide for her children what most of us wish for, and that was love and togetherness and presence. She was always present. And now she’s not."

    https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...nxi-story.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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