| MURDERED ARRESTED - According to the Charleston Police Department, an arrest was made in the shooting murder of Charlestonâs Kelvin âKJâ Taylor. Taylor, a Capital High School senior and sports athlete, was shot and killed on the corner of Glenwood and Central Avenue on the west end of Charleston Wednesday, April 7.
On Thursday, July 8 around noon, the United States Marshal Service, Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, and Akron Police Department placed 19-year-old Dekotis Thomas, of Charleston, under arrest.
A murder warrant is being issued for Dekotis Thomas, 19, of South Charleston in connection to the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Capital High School senior Kelvin âKJâ Taylor.
Thomas had been indicted on four charges, including murder, back in May of 2021. Thomas was named as a suspect in the investigation by the Charleston Police Department on April 28, exactly four weeks after the shooting.
No other information is being released at this time.
MAN CHARGED IN BRUTAL MURDER - A Farmington man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a man in Taylor County.
On June 26, a trooper with the Taylor County Sheriffâs Department received a call of a male located on Black Mountain in Taylor County âwho appeared to be deceased,â according to a criminal complaint.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they confirmed that Tyler Poston, 26, of Grafton, was deceased, and after an autopsy, âit was confirmed that he was murdered and that his wounds were in no way self-inflicted,â deputies said.
Deputies were able to collect five .22 caliber shell casings from the scene, and after doing so, deputies made contact with Joshua Price, 29, of Farmington at his residence, according to the complaint.
Upon making contact with Price, deputies located a shell casing at his residence which was âthe same caliber as the casings from the crime scene,â and was in the âfront area of a truck,â which was registered to Price, deputies said.
At that time, âthe truck was impoundedâ pending a search warrant for its contents; while at the residence, deputies were able to locate two shell casings âwhich were stated to have been fired from a .22 caliber handgun by Price,â according to the complaint.
Price was registered as the owner of the handgun, and the firearm also âhad a suppressor on it,â deputies said.
On July 6, deputies took the shell casings retrieved from the three locations and sent them to the Charleston Police Department to be analyzed by ATF agents, and the investigation determined that all the casings were fired from the same weapon, according to the complaint.
The shell casings, as well as the weapon owned by Price and deputiesâ knowledge that a .22 caliber weapon was used âto murder Tyler Poston,â resulted in deputies being able to âdirectly link to Priceâ as matching one particular firearm, deputies said.
Taylor County Sheriff Terry Austin said that the investigation was a cooperation between Taylor, Marion and Harrison countiesâ law enforcement personnel, and the ATF. The combined efforts of each law enforcement agency resulted in the speed-up of the investigation and lead to results.
Price has been charged with first-degree murder. He is being held in North Central Regional Jail.
| 
