Belmont student shooting suspect not deemed unfit to stand trial in previous cases
The suspect was deemed incompetent in a recent aggravated assault case in May 2023, but not in two previous cases.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Despite being deemed unfit to stand trial in a case in May 2023, the Belmont student shooting suspect was able to plead guilty to lesser charges in previous cases.
Shaquille Taylor’s grandmother says she believes the system failed the 29-year-old.
The District Attorney’s office has said that the system is flawed. Since the Supreme Court doesn’t allow district attorneys to prosecute people deemed unfit to understand the trial process or the crimes they’ve committed, their charges are dismissed.
This puts the person back on the street often recommitting the same type of crimes.
That’s what happened with Taylor back in May 2023. In April, he was charged with aggravated assault and was released a month later with his charges dropped after he was found “incompetent.”
Seven months later, police said he went on fire shots that killed Jillian Ludwig.
Taylor has previously been charged with assault and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. In both cases, he was able to plead guilty to lesser charges and was not deemed incompetent to stand trial.
WSMV4 is looking into how Taylor was able to plead guilty several times in the past but was later deemed mentally incompetent.
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