In the fading light of a late December evening in Natchez, Mississippi, a violent encounter tragically cut short the life of 16-year-old Jessie Elbert Taylor Jr. On December 29, 2014, the young man was fatally shot in the back on Beaumont Street. Responding to the scene around 9:00 p.m., a Natchez Police Department officer found Taylor lying in the street, still conscious enough to state that two males had robbed and shot at him.
He recounted that they had demanded he empty his pockets before opening fire. Sadly, Taylor lost consciousness before he could identify his assailants and later succumbed to his injuries. An autopsy would confirm that his death was a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
Witnesses at the scene identified eighteen-year-old Eddie Minor and another individual, Emanuel “Little Carl” Latham, as being involved in the incident. The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of two individuals in connection with the teenager's death. The narrative that unfolded through testimony described an attempted robbery that escalated to murder. Latham, who testified against Minor, stated that Minor had pulled out a gun and demanded everything from Taylor. After Taylor handed over money from his pocket and tried to walk away, Minor allegedly grabbed him and demanded a gun that Taylor was carrying. A struggle ensued, and as Taylor tried to flee, shots were fired.
The legal process that followed brought one of the suspects to justice. Eddie Minor was convicted of armed robbery for his role in the events that led to Jessie Taylor's death. He was subsequently sentenced to serve a thirty-five-year term in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The jury's verdict was later affirmed by the Mississippi Supreme Court, which found no merit in Minor's appeal that argued the evidence was insufficient and the verdict was against the weight of the evidence.
