Grand Jury Declines to Indict Man in Killing of Marquis Taylor

Two Others Indicted for Robbery

18-year-old Mehamed Osman Ali and 18-year-old K'Shawn Davon Harris were charged with Robbery in the First Degree. Photo: Portland Police Bureau

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - On Monday November 7, 2016, a Multnomah County Grand Jury declined to indict 19-year-old Richard Jay Anderson III in connection with the death of 18-year-old Marquis Stephion Taylor.

The Grand Jury determined that Anderson was justified in his use of deadly force after being robbed by Taylor and two other young men: 18-year-old Mehamed Osman Ali and 18-year-old K'Shawn Davon Harris.

The Grand Jury indicted Ali and Harris on charges of Robbery in the First Degree and Robbery in the Second Degree.

Anderson will be released from custody once his charges are formally dismissed in front of a judge.

This investigation started on September 19, 2016, at 8:27 p.m., when North Precinct officers responded to the report of gunfire in the area of North Willis Boulevard and Hereford Avenue.

Officers arrived and located a gunshot victim in the 8100 block of North Hereford Avenue, just North of Willis. Medical personnel arrived and determined that the victim, 18-year-old Marquis Taylor, was deceased.

Homicide detectives, Criminalists from the Forensic Evidence Division and the Medical Examiner are responded to the scene to conduct an investigation. The Medical Examiner determined that Taylor died of a single gunshot wound.

On Friday October 14, 2016, Portland Police Bureau Homicide detectives arrested 19-year-old Richard Jay Anderson III in connection with the September 2016 shooting death of Marquis Taylor.

Further investigation by detectives revealed that Anderson and Taylor were involved in a marijuana transaction when Taylor, Ali and Harris robbed Anderson at gunpoint. Anderson fired a shot in self-defense that killed Marquis Taylor.