Jackson murder suspect apprehended in Brookhaven
Published 10:10 am Thursday, March 14, 2024
A man wanted for a recent murder in Jackson has been apprehended in Brookhaven.
On Tuesday, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office was informed by Jackson Police Department that a wanted fugitive was believed to be in a Lincoln County motel with a female companion.
Sheriff Steve Rushing said deputies were dispatched to the Super 8 motel on Dunn-Ratcliff Road, where contact was made by phone with 19-year-old suspect Joshua Taylor. A deputy talked with Taylor for approximately 15 minutes, after which the suspect allowed the 16-year-old female with him to leave the room.
Taylor then shot himself, Rushing said, and medical personnel responded immediately. He was transported to King’s Daughters Medical Center in Brookhaven, then transferred to University of Mississippi Medical Center. Rushing said Taylor’s current condition is unknown.
The female minor was identified as a runaway from Hazlehurst, and was surrendered to Hazlehurst Police Department. The couple had been at the motel for a few days before being located.
No officers were involved in the shooting, and no one else was harmed, Sheriff Rushing said. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation was contacted, however, as a matter of protocol.
Taylor was wanted in connected with the March 3 shooting death of Siris Catchings, on Barrett Avenue in Jackson. Catchings had been shot multiple times after an ongoing verbal altercation with the suspect involving the victim’s wife. Witnesses identified Taylor as the shooter.
The murder investigation is ongoing.