In the autumn of 2021, a dispute on a Southwest Baltimore street escalated to a fatal encounter for 36-year-old Roy Henry Cantler III. On November 13, 2021, in the 2200 block of Christian Street, Cantler was shot following an altercation. When police arrived, they discovered Cantler on the ground in a pool of blood. Initially, the call was for a possible overdose, but the grave nature of his injuries quickly became apparent.
He was rushed to a local hospital where he was declared brain dead and placed on life support before succumbing to his injuries two days later on November 15, 2021.
The investigation into the death of the male victim led Baltimore Police to identify Taiwan Mitchell, then 39 years old, as the suspect. Investigators believed the shooting stemmed from the dispute between the two men. Mitchell was arrested and initially charged with first-degree murder in connection with Cantler's death. He was held at Central Booking without bail while awaiting court proceedings. In April 2022, Mitchell rejected a plea deal that included two life sentences.
The case proceeded to trial, where the unusual nature of the weapon became a central point. The cause of Roy Cantler III's death was determined to be a BB gun pellet that had lodged in his brain. During the trial, the defense argued that the act was not intended to be fatal due to the use of a BB gun, which is rarely a lethal weapon. On December 5, 2023, a jury found Taiwan Mitchell, then 41, guilty of several lesser charges: involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, possession of a pellet gun, and discharging a pellet gun.
In May 2024, a Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge sentenced Mitchell to a total of 17 years in prison for his role in the death of Roy Cantler III. The sentence was structured with consecutive terms for each of the convictions: ten years for involuntary manslaughter, five years for second-degree assault, one year for possession of a pellet gun, and another year for discharging the pellet gun.
