Man arrested and charged with felony regarding 2023 shooting of 11-year-old

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Court documents state 22-year-old Arthur Leon Taylor has been charged with assisting a criminal, a level five felony, regarding the April 2023 shooting that left 11-year-old T'yon Horston dead.

The affidavit states on April 20, 2023, around 5:52 p.m., officers responded to the area of N. Johnson Street in South Bend for shots fired with a possible shooting victim lying on the front porch of a residence.

Police arrived and found a gunshot victim, later identified as Horston.

Horston was taken to Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Spent shell casings and projectiles were also located in the area.

Witnesses told police they saw a person dressed in black clothing shooting at the house from the alley across the street. The shooter then ran to a white Dodge Charger with a paper plate and left.

After the incident, a white Dodge Charger with a paper plate was found in the nearby area. Witnesses in that area told police they saw a black man in black running from the Charger carrying multiple firearms.

Video and camera footage was found at both locations to confirm the Charger used in the shooting and the one that apparently broke down were the same. The registered owner was found to be Ashley Peck.

Through video evidence where the Charger was dumped, it was learned a white Infiniti SUV appeared to pick up the man in black a few minutes after it broke down.

Peck reported the Charger stolen through Indianapolis Metro Police Department at around 5:41 p.m. that same day.

Peck was later interviewed about her car being involved in this incident and told authorities her son, Dominick Williams Jr., primarily drove the Charger and it had mechanical issues.

Peck stated Williams Jr. was with his friend "AR" that day and eventually admitted someone called her right before she reported the car stolen and told her to report it stolen but she didn't know who this person was.

Peck told authorities she was aware that "AR Frm AceBlock" is the Facebook name for Taylor, and he drove the same car as the SUV in the video where it picked up the Charger's driver.

Peck then stated she knew Williams Jr. was in South Bend at the time of the call, which was shortly after the homicide, and he was with Taylor, whom she identified through a photo array.

Taylor was then interviewed about this incident and told police he was with his cousin, Christopher Neely-Thompson, that day at his residence on Grace Street.

Documents state Taylor then admitted he went to the area of N. Johnson Street with Thompson that day and picked up his friend's brother. Taylor told authorities the person he picked up was "Dom" and Dom's sister was Alyssa Williams.

Taylor went on to say Williams Jr. called him and said his car broke down, so he needed him to pick him up and gave his his location.

Taylor told police Williams Jr. said he was on Johnson Street near Portage Avenue and the car he'd been driving was a white Dodge Charger.

Taylor also identified Williams Jr. by his Facebook name, "Bandmann Domo," and no one else was with Williams Jr. when he picked him up. Taylor said Thompson was with him in the SUV when he picked up Williams Jr.

Talyor told police he then dropped Williams Jr. off in "Little Mexico" and Alyssa picked him up and left. Police say Taylor later admitted he drove Williams Jr. to the homicide scene after he picked him up before they went back to his residence on Grace Street.

Taylor also admitted Williams Jr. had a rifle with him when he picked him up.

When asked why he went to the crime scene right after he picked up Williams Jr., Taylor stated his mother had called and told him about the shooting, so he was being nosey. Call Detail Records for Taylor's cell phone showed this wasn't accurate as there was no contact between him and his mother at that time.

Taylor then admitted he took Williams Jr. to his house on Grace Street before dropping him off to Alyssa. Taylor stated Williams Jr. didn't tell him what happened right before his car broke down and was silent during the ride to the crime scene and Taylor's house. 

Authorities then spoke to a neighbor who witnessed Taylor going inside his apartment on Grace Street shortly after the shooting with two men carrying rifles.

Thompson was interviewed and confirmed he was with Taylor when they picked up a man whose broke down. Thompson stated the sister of the man whose car broke down called Taylor and asked him to pick her brother up.

Thompson told police the guy looked around 19 with corn rows and was wearing all black clothing.

Thompson was interviewed again and identified Williams Jr. from a photo array as the person that Taylor picked up.

Taylor was arrested and taken into custody by an outside agency on July 14.

He's currently being held in St. Joseph County Jail without bond.

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