Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that Juan Ranero (age 22), of 183 Clarence Street, Providence, pleaded guilty yesterday before Superior Court Justice William Carnes for his role in the May 14, 2014 drive-by shooting that killed Davon Taylor and injured Destiny Taylor.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, which was reached with the approval of the victims, Ranero was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years suspended with probation, non-parolable.
Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove that at approximately 4:00 p.m. on May 14, 2014, Juan Ranero was driving a motor vehicle with Joseph "Jo Jo" Taylor, no relation to the victim. Taylor fired a .9 mm firearm out of the sunroof of the vehicle into the motor vehicle being driven by 20-year-old Davon Taylor. Bullets struck and killed Davon Taylor and injured his younger sister Destiny, who was 15 at the time.
It is believed that Joseph Taylor shot Davon Taylor simply because the two lived in rival neighborhoods. Destiny Taylor identified Joseph Taylor as the shooter and Ranero was later identified as the driver.
"On that fateful day, Juan Ranero and Jo Jo Taylor drove around with a loaded .9mm looking for trouble," said Attorney General Kilmartin. "In the end, a young father and beloved brother was dead and a 15-year-old girl injured, all over a perceived territorial rivalry. Young men, armed with illegal guns with no sense of right and wrong, created this tragic and unnecessary tragedy."
Providence Police Detectives Steven Sullivan and Daniel O'Connell led the investigation. Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Juvenile Prosecution Unit John Moreira, along with Special Assistant Attorneys General Joseph McBurney and Jeffrey Morin, prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.
Joseph Taylor pleaded guilty to the charges in March 2015 and was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years suspended with probation, non-parolable.