In the evening hours of September 19, 2016, a life was cut short in a North Portland neighborhood. Marquis Stephion Taylor, an 18-year-old Black / African American male, was fatally wounded by a single gunshot. The incident unfolded around 8:30 p.m. near the intersection of North Willis Boulevard and Hereford Avenue. Initially, details were scarce as responding officers found Taylor, who had run a distance after being shot before collapsing.
Medical personnel who arrived on the scene pronounced him dead.
The investigation into the shooting revealed a tragic story of a drug deal gone wrong. Taylor, along with two other 18-year-olds, Mehamed Osman Ali and K'Shawn Davon Harris, had arranged to meet 19-year-old Richard Anderson III for a marijuana transaction. During the course of this meeting, Taylor, Ali, and Harris robbed Anderson at gunpoint. In what was later determined to be an act of self-defense, Anderson fired his own weapon, striking Taylor.
Following the initial investigation, Richard Anderson III was arrested on October 14, 2016. However, the case took a significant turn when it was presented to a grand jury. After reviewing the evidence and the circumstances of the robbery, the grand jury declined to indict Anderson on any charges related to the shooting death of Marquis Taylor, ruling that his actions were justified. Consequently, Anderson was released from custody and the charges against him were formally dismissed. While Anderson was cleared, Mehamed Osman Ali and K'Shawn Davon Harris were indicted by the grand jury on charges of first-degree and second-degree robbery for their involvement in the incident that led to Taylor's death.
