Lawrence Milton Brantley III, 18, a Black male from Lubbock, was killed on August 18, 2025, after gunfire erupted at a central Lubbock home just before dawn. Officers were called when multiple shots were heard shortly before 4 a.m.; Brantley was found gravely wounded and pronounced dead soon after. Early reports described a chaotic scene around a residence in central Lubbock, with detectives appealing to the public for help as they began piecing together what led to the violence.
Within days, investigators focused on a suspect: 23-year-old Kendrick “Skrilla” Taylor. Police obtained a murder warrant alleging Taylor shot Brantley during a dispute at the gathering. As the investigation widened, authorities said the shooting happened in the 1900 block of 44th Street, and they described Taylor as armed and dangerous while asking for tips about his whereabouts. Brantley’s family publicly pleaded for justice as the manhunt intensified.
On September 18, 2025, the Texas Department of Public Safety added Taylor to the state’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list, noting he was on parole and associated with a gang, and offered a reward for information leading to his capture. The listing kept sustained attention on the case and underscored investigators’ view that Taylor was actively evading arrest following the warrant tied to Brantley’s killing.
Authorities announced a breakthrough on October 22, 2025: members of the U.S. Marshals Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force arrested Taylor around 11:30 a.m. at a hotel on North Garnett Road in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Local outlets reported that Lubbock police identified Taylor as a Texas Top 10 wanted murder suspect connected to Brantley’s death, and that he was taken into custody without further incident. With the arrest, detectives indicated the case had moved from a fugitive search toward prosecution for the killing that cut short Brantley’s life.
Brantley’s obituary records his full name and age and places his death on August 18, 2025, in Lubbock, where family and friends gathered later that month to mourn him and lay him to rest. Those notices, shared by a local funeral home and republished on memorial pages, became a testament to a young life remembered while the criminal case advanced in the courts.
