In the early hours of May 8, 2022, Reginald Taylor Sr., a 56-year-old Black male, was with a friend in Tacoma, Washington, looking for an after-hours club to continue their evening. Shortly after 2:00 a.m., they arrived at the Diplomatz Motorcycle Club located in the 5400 block of South Tacoma Way, but were denied entry as it was a members-only night.
Undeterred, Taylor and his friend decided to wait outside, hoping to see someone they knew who could get them in.
As the night wore on, an argument broke out, reportedly over the use of a racial slur. This verbal confrontation escalated into a physical fight between Reginald Taylor Sr. and another man. During the altercation, a friend of the man Taylor was fighting with, Joice Duane Williams, allegedly became involved. Williams is said to have pulled out a handgun, shooting Taylor once in the abdomen before fleeing the scene in a car. Police were called to the scene at approximately 2:49 a.m. and found Taylor on the sidewalk, unresponsive. Despite immediate medical attention, he succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office later confirmed that his death was a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
An investigation into the shooting death of Reginald Taylor Sr., a father of six and a grandfather to fourteen, was immediately launched. Through their investigation, which included witness testimonies, surveillance footage, and cell phone data, detectives identified 45-year-old Joice Duane Williams as the primary suspect. Acting on anonymous tips that Williams was planning to flee to California, the Tacoma Police Department apprehended him at a business in Tacoma on May 25, 2022.
Joice Duane Williams, who has an extensive and violent criminal history, was subsequently charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, second-degree assault, and unlawful possession of a firearm. He entered not-guilty pleas to the charges brought against him. Williams has prior felony convictions, including one for second-degree manslaughter in 2002 and another for first-degree burglary in 2012.
