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In 2021, a 19-year-old West Charleston resident Dekotis Thomas shot the star student-athlete of the town, Kelvin "KJ" Taylor, in the chest leading to his death on April 7, 2021.
The Charleston Police Department was at a loss for leads and appealed to the community for any information following the murder. However, the authorities identified Dekotis Thomas as a suspect from the surveillance footage that they had recovered from the area and named a suspicious vehicle which led to Taylor's arrest on July 8, 2021.
The See No Evil episode titled Fallen Star looks into Kelvin Taylor's murder at the hands of Dektois Thomas. The episode aired on January 10, 2024, at 9 p.m. EST on Investigation Discovery and offers the below synopsis,
"In 2021, talented high school football star KJ Taylor is killed during a drive-by shooting outside a West Virginia convenience store; CCTV helps detectives follow the trail of the truck spotted stalking KJ's friends leading up to the shooting."
How was Dekotis Thomas arrested? Details explored
The 19-year-old Dekotis Elijah Thomas, a resident of South Charleston, was arrested on July 8, 2021, by the collective efforts of the United States Marshal Service (USMS), Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF), and the Akron Police Department, per WOWK-TV News 13.
Thomas was identified as the perpetrator through the surveillance footage available which led to the issue of an arrest warrant for him. The USMS investigated his whereabouts and pinned him to his home at the 600 block of Glendora Avenue in Akron where he had hidden himself. According to his defense attorney, Thomas allegedly grew up with 15 siblings and started living on his own at 16 with little to no direction in life. Thomas' attorney, Joey Spano elaborated,
"He never had any direction. He did graduate from high school; I'm shocked that he did. He just never had the direction that a normal child being raised did."
Dekotis Thomas was tracked using leads for a grey Ford F-150 which was involved in the drive-by shooting that took place on the corner of Glenwood and Central Avenue. Thomas drove the truck as he showered bullets out of the window - one of which hit Taylor in the chest. Taylor was pronounced dead as he arrived at the hospital
As the investigation into Kelvin KJ Taylor's murder went on, Dekotis was found to have been previously indicted for the unsolved murder of Antwan Curnell in October 2019.
As officials from the USMS made contact with Thomas to negotiate his surrender, he allegedly set his house on fire. He threw an "item similar to a Molotov cocktail at officers.” After over two hours, the house fire was extinguished with Thomas announcing his surrender.
Where is Dekotis Thomas now?
Dekotis Thomas was charged with the first-degree murder of Kelvin “KJ” Taylor along with two other counts. Thomas had four additional counts from the 2019 death of Antwan Curnell, per CBS News.
However, Dekotis Thomas entered a Kennedy plea in August 2022 through which he "did not admit guilt but agreed that the state has enough evidence for a conviction." As part of his plea, the prosecutors dropped the seven other related charges and Judge Joanna Tabit sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Per West Virginia Department of Corrections records, Dekotis Thomas is presently incarcerated at the Mount Olive Correctional Complex.
