Marion County attempted murder, kidnapping trial gets underway involving hometown sports hero
Jan. 4—FAIRMONT — An Ohio man is on trial this week for his role in the attempted murder of a former Fairmont Senior High basketball standout.
Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Freeman did not let the fact that Taevon Horton, who now plays professional basketball for a team in Azerbaijan, played for West Virginia University and calls Fairmont his hometown, go to waste in opening arguments.
"We like to think that in our sleepy little town of Fairmont, these things don't happen," Freeman said. "Taevon Horton is a memorable athlete, used his abilities to gain an education and rode on the back of his God-given talent to success. But, outside forces brought evil here with the design to take his life and potential."
Tyreese D. Taylor is on trial for charges of kidnapping, first-degree attempted murder, wanton endangerment involving a firearm, conspiracy to commit a felony and use or presentation of a firearm in commission of a felony.
The case stems from an April 2023 shooting that took place at a home on Maple Avenue Extension. In court, Bertha Horton, Taevon's grandmother, explained some of the circumstances that led to the shooting.
An individual that the Hortons consider an adopted cousin found himself in legal trouble and fled to Ohio. After the family convinced the individual to turn himself in to Fairmont police, Taevon Horton was dispatched to retrieve the adopted cousin. However, circumstances caught up with the individual and he found himself in police custody before Horton could bring him back to Fairmont. Due to the unfortunate timing, this raised the ire of Kenyatta William Ephraim, who suspected Taevon Horton was responsible for the turn of circumstances and accused Horton of being a snitch.
Freeman's opening statement filled in more of the backstory.
On April 27, 2023, Taevon "Digger" Horton and his brother, Tavon "Butters" Horton, were hanging out at "Butters" Horton's apartment in Morgantown. "Digger" Horton departed, but shortly after Ephraim, along with Jaime Ray Jones and Tyrese Dayvon Taylor, appeared at the apartment. They kidnapped "Butters" Horton at gunpoint and forced him into a vehicle.
Together, they all drove down Interstate 79 to Fairmont in search of "Digger" Horton. At one point, after "Butters" Horton realized his brother's car was parked at the Dairy Cream Corner, he furiously worked to convince the assailants that his brother was elsewhere and that "Digger" Horton's girlfriend was in possession of the car. The assailants drove on.
After reaching the house on Maple Avenue Extension, one of the assailants began firing at "Digger" Horton, who had just pulled up to the home. However, "Digger" retreated into his car and retrieved his own firearm, firing back in self defense. Bullets struck the house, where children were also present. Fortunately, neither "Digger" Horton or any of his family members were harmed in the shootout. Ephraim was wounded in the crossfire. "Digger" Horton also hadn't yet realized his brother was in the assailant's car.
The car sped to Fairmont Medical Center, where Ephraim sought medical treatment for the gunshot wound. "Butters" Horton outsmarted the assailants once more, using the blood that had landed on him from when Ephraim was hit to feign his own wound. The others in the car let him go into the hospital as well, where "Butters" promptly sought help and had police arrest Ephraim. A police report later stated that Taylor was arrested in connection with the shooting.
Taylor's defense attorney, Joey Garcia, conceded that the state had a good case in its opening arguments, had it been Ephraim or Jones sitting at the defendant's table.
"There's lots of evidence showing Ephraim and 'Butters' Horton," Garcia said. "Lots of evidence supporting Jaime Jones. No video evidence identifies Tyreese Taylor."
The strategy Garcia laid out in his opening statement argued that the state doesn't actually know who played what role within the car, and that while the state had excellent evidence of Ephraim or Jones' role in the shooting, it did not have the same clarity when it came to Taylor.
"Butters" Horton reported his assailants wore masks while he sat in the back seat with them and he could not identify them. A gunshot residue expert from the state crime lab testified Wednesday that residue was found on Taylor's hands but not on his face. Through his cross examination, Garcia seemed to imply that the residue did not necessarily land on the person who fired the gun.
Bertha Horton staunchly disagreed with Garcia's defense. Although Garcia and Bertha Horton shared a convoluted recap of where she was and what she had seen when the shooting started outside her home on Maple Avenue Extension, one thing was clear in Bertha Horton's eyes.
"I looked your client straight in the face," Bertha Horton said. "If he was wearing a mask, then how would I identify him?"
Throughout her testimony, Bertha Horton repeatedly made it clear she could positively identify Taylor as one of the shooters because she managed to get a good, clear look at him before the shooting started. Bertha Horton had been at her window, preparing to yell at "Digger" Horton for failing to return from an errand she dispatched him on in a timely manner when the shooting broke out.
Detectives Sean Tracy and Moses Perry of the Fairmont Police Department also testified. They indicated that the people in the car wore masks. Perry said he was only able to identify "Butters" Horton and Ephraim in video surveillance footage from the hospital.
The trial continues Thursday and is expected to last through Friday.
Marion County Circuit Court Judge Patrick Wilson is presiding over the case.
Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com
