In the late hours of a Sunday evening in Joplin, Missouri, on January 29, 2017, the life of 21-year-old Taven Lee Williams was tragically cut short. Williams, a male resident of Joplin, was at a home in the 2300 block of East Zora when violence erupted. What began as a robbery spiraled into a homicide, leaving one man dead and another wounded.
The incident unfolded when three men from Columbus, Kansas, arrived with the intention of robbing another man, Paul Haney, of marijuana.
During the course of the robbery, Taven Williams attempted to intervene to help Haney. In the ensuing struggle, both Williams and Haney were shot. While Haney survived his injuries, Williams was pronounced deceased at the scene by emergency responders who had been called to the residence for a shooting.
The investigation into Taven Williams' death led law enforcement to three suspects: Erik T. Jones, 21, Brock D. Robinson, 19, and Azaiah Forester, 19. A break in the case came on March 30, 2017, when Jones was arrested for driving while intoxicated, and a handgun reported stolen at the time of the murder was discovered in his vehicle. The vehicle itself was also linked to the crime scene. This led to the subsequent arrest of Robinson on March 31st and Forester on April 3rd.
All three men were charged with second-degree murder and first-degree robbery in connection with the death of Taven Williams. Following their arrests, the legal process moved forward, ultimately resulting in convictions for the three individuals. Brock D. Robinson was sentenced for second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, and first-degree assault. He implicated Erik Jones as the one who fired the fatal shot. In the end, all three men—Jones, Robinson, and Forester—received 15-year prison sentences for their roles in the robbery and murder of Taven Williams.
