Brandon Taylor freed of one out of fourteen charges

In the Supreme Court, meanwhile, Justice Michelle Arana freed twenty-two year old Brandon Taylor, of the charge of Attempted Murder of Emmerick Meggs, who was unable to testify due to the injuries he sustained in the shooting. This came when the prosecution, led by Crown Counsel Cecil Ramirez, entered a nolle prosequi that they could not proceed with trial. An earlier voire dire failed to allow into evidence a statement by Meggs who was unable to give testimony because he suffers from post traumatic disorder. Meggs was debilitated by a bullet to the back of the head when the incident occurred. In her ruling Justice Arana said that the statement would have had a prejudicial effect on Taylor since Meggs could not be cross examined. Doctor D.A. Cervantes, who testified at the voire dire, said that Meggs would have been unable to understand and respond to questions put to him at trial. He also said that Meggs runs a life long risk of suffering brain infections due to the persistence of a metallic bullet fragment deep in the brain tissue. What’s more, Dr. Cervantes said Meggs sustained permanent neurological injuries and he suffers from facial paralysis and deafness on his right ear.
Meggs was shot around seven-forty-five on the night of January twenty-sixth, 2007 in the area of the Yarborough Bridge. But although Taylor was freed of the charge, he still has other pending charges—fourteen of them, including one for Attempted Murder. That charge will now be upgraded to murder since the victim Glenn Williams has died. Williams was the security guard on duty at Western Union Money Transfer who was injured in a robbery attempt.