CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A teenager has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a West Virginia high school athlete, police said.
Dekotis Elijah Thomas, 19, of Charleston, was arrested Thursday by authorities in Akron, Ohio, Charleston police said in a news release.
News outlets, citing a statement from the U.S. Marshals Service, said Thomas was involved in a standoff with police and set the house he was in on fire before he surrendered.
Kelvin “KJ” Taylor, 18, was shot in the chest on April 7. Taylor had played football and basketball and was set to graduate from Capital High School in May.
Police issued an arrest warrant for Thomas in late April. A Kanawha County grand jury later indicted Thomas on murder and weapons charges in Taylor’s death. The same grand jury also indicted him in a separate slaying in October 2019. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported Thomas failed to appear for an arraignment hearing last week.
It wasn’t immediately known whether Thomas has an attorney.
