Bristol man charged in slaying of teen
William Moore allegedly returned to apartment where he was robbed, shot Hartford 17-year-old
HARTFORD – Returning to the Park Street apartment building where he was robbed this summer, William Moore admitted he opened fire, knowing the thieves lived there, records show. A 17-year-old boy visiting friends was fatally shot.
“The wrong place at the wrong time” was how Karlonzo Taylor’s father described Wednesday’s shooting. The teen got out of school early and was with friends in the apartment building, a block or so away from his home. “He got out early and that was it,” Denley Taylor, the father, said.
In a brief appearance Friday in Superior Court in Hartford, Moore, 24, was ordered held on $1.5 million bail and required to submit to a mental health evaluation. Moore’s mother, Tenesha Lee, said her son suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. “He needs help,” she said.
Moore was charged with murder, firstdegree assault and criminal possession of a firearm. A second 17-year-old boy was hurt
in the shooting, but is recovering, police said.
“The allegations are as serious as they come,” Judge Ann E. Lynch said.
Moore was taken into custody at his Bristol apartment Thursday, less than 24 hours after the shooting. An arrest warrant affidavit shows he was found with a 9 mm handgun.
“The evidence here is very strong,” Prosecutor Jesse Giddings said at Friday’s appearance. Asking for a lower bail, Moore’s attorney, Dean Velodato, said his client suffered from serious mental health issues and had no means to post bond.
The minuteslong appearance ended with Moore exchanging hasty goodbyes with his family. As Moore left the courtroom, a person in the gallery shouted: “Say goodbye to the boy you killed.”
Detectives first identified Moore as a suspect after speaking to a third person who was on the second-floor landing where the shooting happened. The witness, who was not injured, told investigators Moore walked up to the second floor, clutching a gun. Then he started firing.
Reviewing a photo lineup, the witness reported knowing Moore for most his life and was “100 percent sure” he was the shooter after seeing his picture, the affidavit for Moore’s arrest reads.
Police tracked down Moore using a cellphone number he gave after reporting the summer robbery. He was brought in for an interview and confessed to the shooting, according to the affidavit.
Moore told investigators he had been robbed by people in that apartment building in August and they had threatened him and his family since, according to the affidavit. Moore said he was drove there Wednesday, went inside about 1:30 p.m., walked up to the narrow second-floor landing and opened fired.
He then left the apartment building, got in the car and went back to Bristol, Moore told investigators. He said the gun they found him with was the one he shot in the apartment building. Detectives reported finding six shell casings on the second floor.
Another teen, Dariyan Hilson, was charged with robbing Moore in August, records show. Moore told investigators he knew the people who robbed him lived in the building, but police said neither Karlonzo Taylor, nor the other victim, lived there.
Lee remembers driving her son to the Park Street building over the summer when he was robbed of money and jewelry.
“I don’t know about how everything else transpired, but this is all where it started from,” Lee said. She knew the kids who robbed her son, but Taylor wasn’t among them. “It wasn’t him. It wasn’t him at all. I know exactly who did it,” Lee said.
Karlonzo Taylor’s family said the teen was not the intended target.
“He didn’t have problems with anyone,” said Denley Taylor, who was joined in court by more of Karlonzo Taylor’s family on Friday.
Karlonzo Taylor was remembered by family, friends and educators as a peaceful teen finishing a promising senior year of high school. At a gathering Thursday night, one friend said Karlonzo Taylor “brought the peace.”
“He was the best kid … he didn’t answer you back. He listened to anything you said. He cares about everybody,” Denley Taylor said. “He never caused a problem with anyone.”