3rd Murder Suspect Convicted In Annapolis Shooting: Prosecutor

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The last of three suspects in a fatal Annapolis shooting was found guilty, county prosecutors said Wednesday.

Officials said a jury found Shammond Taylor, 24, guilty on 11 counts in the 2021 killing of 22-year-old Cornell Young.

Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said the counts included felony first-degree murder, robbery and weapons offenses.

Prosecutors said Taylor faces a potential life sentence plus more than a hundred years in prison. The sentencing is scheduled for March 30 in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.

"I am thankful to the jury who listened to the facts and found the defendant guilty," Leitess said in a Wednesday press release. "Young men are killing other young men in our county because gun violence has become the norm. The convictions of these three men mean that our community may be safer and Mr. Young’s family may find some peace and closure because of it."

Officials said the fatal shooting happened on Oct. 14, 2021.

Young and a friend drove from Baltimore to Annapolis and parked in a lot on Pleasant Street. Leitess said they then met with co-defendant Kenon Jackson, 22, around 1 p.m.

Taylor exited a waiting vehicle and pointed a gun at Young and his friend, prosecutors said.

Officials said Jackson grabbed the friend's backpack and rummaged through Young's car.

Leitess said the other co-defendant, 33-year-old Jaonte Coates, helped Jackson go through the car.

While Jackson and Coates went through the vehicle, prosecutors said Young wrestled Taylor to try and disarm him.

Officials said Young was shot multiple times during the struggle and died from his injuries.

Young's death came one day after his 22nd birthday, Leitess said.

Young's friend was not hurt.

Prosecutors said security cameras caught the encounter on tape.

Police officers said they recognized Taylor from the footage. One officer testified that he knew Taylor while he was growing up in the Annapolis area.

Officials also said Taylor left his cell phone at the scene.

Investigators said they later learned that Taylor went to an AT&T store afterward and bought a SIM card for the phone number that matched the phone left behind.

Leitess said police arrested Taylor, and a judge held him without bond until his week-long trial.

Jackson previously entered an Alford plea to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, prosecutors said. An Alford plea means the defendant does not admit to committing the crime, but they acknowledge that the evidence would likely lead to their conviction.

Officials said Coates followed with an identical plea and was sentenced to 20 years.

Assistant State's Attorneys Jason Steinhardt and Brian Pritchard prosecuted the case. Judge J. Michael Wachs presided over it.

This map shows the area where Leitess said the shooting happened.

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