One Shooting Resulted in the Death of an Innocent Bystander
Earlier today, Brooklyn drug trafficker Shaun Taylor, also known as “S-Dot,” was sentenced to ten life terms plus 50 years in prison.
Following a three-week jury trial, Taylor was convicted on September 8, 2014, of all charges including murder for hire, drug-related murder, narcotics trafficking conspiracy, and firearms offenses. The charges arose from the defendant’s participation in a decade-long narcotics trafficking operation in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, which was responsible for distributing kilogram quantities of heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island. Taylor ordered two murders during the conspiracy, one of which resulted in the death of an unintended victim, whom Taylor’s hitman shot in a case of mistaken identity.
The evidence at trial established that Taylor frequently recruited young men to settle scores on his behalf. When another drug dealer stole the cellular telephone Taylor used to conduct his narcotics business, he recruited Timothy Pinkney to murder him. On April 29, 2005, Taylor offered Pinkney $1,500 to carry out the hit, drove Pinkney to the scene, and mistakenly directed him to shoot Terrance Barnett, who was standing in front of a school in Bushwick. Barnett just happened to be visiting Brooklyn for the weekend and had no prior relationship with Taylor or Pinkney. Pinkney shot Barnett in the head and torso at close range, killing him. Pinkney subsequently pled guilty to his role in the murder and is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence.
Two years later, Taylor and a co-conspirator stole approximately five kilograms of cocaine that was shipped to Joseph Vargas. Fearing Vargas might retaliate, Taylor hired two young men to kill him. On June 20, 2007, Taylor drove with the men to point out Vargas, who was at a car wash on DeKalb Avenue in Bushwick. Taylor provided the murder weapon and left the scene. One of the men entered the carwash and shot Vargas and his brother. Vargas’s brother survived, but Vargas was killed.
