The criminal case against a 20-year-old Vancouver man who was accused of shooting toward his former girlfriend and her family in March 2022 was dismissed after prosecutors learned he died earlier this month.
Prosecutors filed motions to dismiss two pending cases against Terrence S. Taylor. In a case filed March 29, 2022, he was charged with possession of a stolen firearm and domestic violence aiming or discharging a firearm. In a case filed Jan. 19, he was charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, altering identifying marks on a firearm and carrying a concealed pistol without a license.
Taylor previously pleaded not guilty in both cases, and they were scheduled for trial May 1.
The motions included a notice from the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office that Taylor died April 5. His cause and manner of death were listed as pending. Judge David Gregerson ordered the dismissals April 20.
Vancouver police responded at 10:16 p.m. March 20, 2022, to the Parc Central apartments at 2600 T St. A woman told police she was returning home with her mother and two sisters when she saw her former boyfriend, identified as Taylor, approaching with four other people. When he spotted her, Taylor shouted to his companions and pulled out a handgun. He then fired one round toward the ground, about 20 feet from the door of the woman’s apartment, where she and her family were trying to get inside, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The woman said when she and Taylor broke up, he sent her messages threatening to kill her until she blocked him on all social media accounts, court records state.
Police found a 9 mm casing near the porch where the family was standing, according to the affidavit. Officers located Taylor at the nearby T Street Apartments. Crisis negotiators called for him over a loud speaker to come outside, and he surrendered.
When officers searched Taylor’s apartment, they found a 9 mm pistol that was reported stolen out of Gresham, Ore., court records state.
