Ervin L. Mosley, 55, was shot in the early hours of Saturday, June 18, 2022, on Elmira’s Northside, in a stretch of West Clinton Street that was still quiet enough for the sound of gunfire to carry. Just before 3 a.m., Elmira police were called to the 400 block after reports of shots, and neighbors told officers the shooter had run into a nearby residence at 424 W. Clinton St.
Police moved into the house and encountered a man coming out holding an AK-47-style rifle.
Officers ordered him to drop the weapon; he complied, but when they tried to take him into custody he resisted and was subdued with a Taser. Inside, officers found Mosley in a bedroom, wounded by gunfire. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries. Investigators said the evidence gathered at the time pointed to a domestic dispute over property and that there was no broader threat to the community.
The suspect arrested at the scene was Taiwan L. Dennard, 42, who was charged with second-degree murder. After police obtained a search warrant for the home, they reported recovering not only the rifle seen outside but additional firearms and equipment: two 9mm Glock handguns, including a “ghost gun” fitted with a 50-round drum, along with a Mauser bolt-action rifle and numerous magazines and ammunition.
As the case moved through court, prosecutors brought it to a grand jury, which added multiple felony weapons allegations to the murder charge, including counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degrees. In August 2023, Dennard pleaded guilty in Chemung County Court to second-degree murder for the killing, and the plea agreement set the framework for a state-prison term of 20 years to life.
