NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Court documents show the man accused of shooting a Belmont University student had a criminal history, but was recently found not competent to stand trial.
Shaquille Taylor, 29, has an intellectual disability and language impairment, according to court records obtained by NewsChannel 5. That determination meant he wasn't able to participate in a trial where he was accused of shooting into a car in 2021 off of Dickerson Pike where a 3-year-old and 1-year-old were in the back seat. He admitted to detectives in 2021 that he did it.
Taylor was the co-defendant in the case, and he was originally charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. By law, Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton had to dismiss the case because he was deemed incompetent.
"In my opinion, Mr. Taylor does not possess adjudicative competence due to his intellectual disability and language impairment," Dr. Mary Elizabeth Wood wrote in a forensic assessment report for the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Development Disabilities. "He understands the allegations and recognizes that his liberty interests as the accused are at risk. He was easily confused with basic questions. There was limited ability to provide his attorney with relevant information about his case."
Taylor's history
The evaluation by Dr. Wood wasn't the only one Taylor underwent. In 2010, when Taylor was a teenager, he was referred to the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities where doctors found he was "incompetent and not restorable," meaning his disability couldn't get better. The report in 2010 determined that Taylor had an intellectual disability from being born with pneumonia that led to an infection in his brain, according to court documents.
His mother, Tondalayia Cox, testified that Taylor functioned "on a kindergarten level." When he was 15, his mother testified that Taylor was running around with a Super Nintendo gun, and was "being chased by a gang of boys." His mother told the court he was shot and a bullet had to be removed from his body, according to court documents.
Taylor graduated with a special education diploma.
A broken mental health system
Taylor's criminal history points directly to our Broken Mental Health system. NewsChannel 5 Investigates has done extensive reporting on how that is impacting the Nashville and Middle Tennessee communities.
The order from Judge Dalton in May released Taylor after hearing from three different doctors.
One said "he would not understand courtroom discussions." Another said he was incompetent because of his "intellectual disability and language impairment." A doctor also said Taylor could not be involuntarily committed because he did not seem suicidal and "repeatedly denied any homicidal ideations or any plans to harm jail staff or other inmates."
Davidson County's presiding judge Melissa Blackburn told NewsChannel 5 Investigates earlier this year that a $600,000 grant from the county meant people deemed incompetent are no longer immediately released back on the street. During an 18-month period beginning in 2020, her office found 182 Nashvillians declared incompetent to stand trial had been released.
"We have set up an incompetency docket that deals specifically with those individuals," Judge Melissa Blackburn said earlier this year to NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
Taylor spent time in jail being interviewed by doctors but they all agreed "further training (or medical care) would not change" his competency. So despite admitting to detectives that he shot into a car with children inside, he was released back to the street.
Taylor's criminal history
- 2011: Police seized a .40 caliber handgun from Taylor during an incident when he was a juvenile.
- 2015: Taylor was charged with robbery and given probation
- 2016: Taylor violated that probation when he was charged with aggravated burglary and was sentenced to a year in jail.
- 2021: Taylor was arrested after he and another man fired a gun into a car on Dickerson Pike in East Nashville. He was charged with aggravated assault.
- May 2023: He was released from custody after three court-appointed psychologists deemed him incompetent to stand trial, but also found he didn't pose an imminent threat to himself or others.
- Sept. 2023: Taylor was charged with auto theft and released on bail, but an arrest warrant was issued for him last Friday when he failed to show up in court.
