Attorney: Man charged in Rite Aid killing legally insane

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2015/05/07/ricard-taylor-trial-begins/70906934/

MASON – The day before Ricard Taylor allegedly shot and killed his neighbor, he asked him if he wanted to die and wanted to feel what it was like to get shot, witnesses testified Thursday.

Taylor, 35, and his East Lansing neighbor, 27-year-old Jordan Rogers, had argued the night of Mother’s Day last year. It was the second argument in as many days, which also included short fight, according to testimony on the first day of Taylor’s murder trial. The next day, prosecutors said Taylor went to Rogers’ home where he shot and killed him, less than an hour after shooting and killing pharmacist Michael Addo, 35, at a Lansing Rite Aid near the Frandor Shopping Center.

Taylor is charged with two counts of murder in the May 2014 killings. He also faces multiple gun charges.

The trial began Thursday in front of Ingham County Circuit Court Judge William Collette. It is expected to last four to five days.

Keith Watson, Taylor’s attorney, said he isn’t going to contest whether his client killed Rogers and Addo, but instead will argue Taylor was legally insane when he committed the crimes.

Several witnesses, including Rite Aid workers and Rogers’ fiancee, testified Thursday. Key testimony from psychiatrists will come later in the trial.

One of those witnesses will be a psychiatrist who spent three days evaluating Taylor last year. Taylor told that psychiatrist on the third day of his psychiatric evaluation that he thought Rogers and Addo were morphing into werewolves or vampires, according to Watson and John Dewane, Ingham County deputy chief assistant prosecutor.

Taylor is a paranoid schizophrenic, Watson said.

While the burden of proof is usually on prosecutors, in this case Watson is required to prove that Taylor had a mental illness and couldn’t fully appreciate the consequences of his actions while committing the crimes, Dewane said. Both elements have to be present.

During his opening statement, Dewane said Taylor did not mention werewolves or vampires until the third day of his evaluation because it was between the second and third day, while in custody, that he came across a book and a movie about them.

When law enforcement arrested Taylor at his home, he told officers he had a gun, where it was and that he killed his neighbor, Dewane said in his opening statement. He added that Taylor gave a consistent story of both shootings to police and psychiatrists.

What’s next

The trial for Ricard Taylor, who is charged with two counts of murder in the May 2014 killings of Jordan Rogers pharmacist Michael Addo, is expected to continue today.

 

 

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