**Update (7/31/2014): Smith was formally charged with first-degree murder at South Boston Municipal Court Thursday and will return to court on Sept. 18, 2014. A press release from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office has been added below.**
Marquis Smith, 23, of Hyde Park has been charged in connection with the February 2014 shooting death of Daniel P. Taylor, also 23.
Soon after midnight on Feb. 23, 2014, authorities found Taylor suffering multiple gunshot wounds at 126 Boston St. near the South Bay shopping plaza in Dorchester. He was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he later died.
Prosecutors allege Smith and Taylor, who were co-workers at Boston-based valet service VPNE Parking Solutions, became engaged in an argument while driving home from a work-related event. At some point during the altercation, Smith is said to have taken a gun out and shot at Taylor repeatedly.
Smith’s arrest comes just days after an article in the Boston Herald reported Boston lags behind the national average when it comes to solving homicides.
A full update from BPD and a press release from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office below.
Today, Wednesday, July 30, 2014, members of the Boston Police Homicide Unit arrested Marquis Smith, 23, of Boston and charged him in the shooting death of Daniel Taylor, 23, of Boston.
At about 12:42 a.m., on Sunday, February 23, 2014, officers from District C-6 (South Boston) responded to an outside scene for shots fired in the area of 126 Boston St. in Dorchester. On arrival, officers located a male victim suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound. The victim, suffering from life threatening injuries, was transported to the Boston Medical Center where he was later pronounced deceased. That victim was later identified as Daniel Taylor, 23, of Boston.
The Boston Police Homicide Unit continues to actively investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident. Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (617) 343-4470.
Press release from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office:
July 31, 2014
Co-Worker Charged with Murder in Fatal Dorchester Shooting
(BOSTON) — A Hyde Park man was held without bail on a murder charge today following his arrest for allegedly shooting his co-worker, 23-year-old Daniel P. Taylor, to death in Dorchester earlier this year, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.
MARQUIS SMITH (D.O.B. 9/27/90) was formally charged in South Boston Municipal Court today with Taylor’s Feb. 23 homicide near the intersection of Boston and Howell streets. Boston Police homicide detectives arrested him yesterday afternoon at the Boston valet service where he and Taylor both worked.
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Hickman of the DA’s Homicide Unit told Judge Michael Bolden that the defendant and victim both attended a work-related social event in downtown Boston on the night of Feb. 22. They left the event together with Taylor driving a family member’s vehicle.
While driving through Dorchester, Smith and Taylor became engaged in an argument, prosecutors say. This came to a head in the area of Boston and Howell streets, where Taylor exited the vehicle and pulled Smith from the passenger’s side. Their verbal argument became a physical confrontation. At some point, prosecutors say, Smith produced a firearm and shot Taylor repeatedly before fleeing on foot in the direction of Andrew station.
Taylor died of his injuries at Boston Medical Center. Boston Police homicide detectives collected evidence at the scene and conducted numerous interviews in the days and weeks that followed, while prosecutors subpoenaed records and witnesses to the Suffolk County Grand Jury. By yesterday, they had developed sufficient evidence to charge Smith, but their efforts are still ongoing and anyone with information on the shooting may contact investigators at (617) 343-4700.
Smith is represented by attorney Robert Sheketoff. He will return to court on Sept. 18.
