Clay County inmate charged for death threats

In letter, Hill mentions prosecutor, judge in case

An inmate serving a life sentence for a Clay County double murder has been charged with threatening the lives of the prosecutor and judge who convicted him.

Taylor Ryan Hill, 26, sent a letter Feb. 12 saying he “would have Assistant State Attorney ‘A.T.,' the state of Florida judge who sentenced the defendant to prison, and their loved ones killed,” said an indictment filed last week in Jacksonville's federal court.

Hill pleaded guilty in 2021 to first-degree murder, attempted murder, armed robbery and gun possession by a felon charges that all followed a 2019 New Year's Eve confrontation at a home in Keystone Heights.

Despite the plea, Hill asked last year to have his case reopened, saying he had been coerced and received inadequate advice from a court-appointed attorney.

A judge in January approved holding a hearing on parts of parts of Hill's argument, leaving a possibility that some part of the sentence that Circuit Judge Michael Sharrit had ordered might be changed.

But on Feb. 21, Assistant State Attorney Ashley Young Terry told another judge “there have been recent developments in this case” and asked for a continuance that postponed any decisions on Hill's request.

For first-degree murder, state law mandates a life sentence if the death penalty isn't imposed.

The State Attorney's Office initially told Hill it planned to seek death before both sides agreed to the life sentence.

The State Attorney's Office declined comment on the new charges, which could add another sentence of up to five years behind bars to Hill's penalties.