Accused in suspected reprisal killing freed due to insufficient evidence

Gladstone Taylor

Vellone Thorne and Trifon Parris, who were jointly charged with the alleged reprisal killing of Gladstone ‘Tuffy’ Taylor, were yesterday freed after a city magistrate found that there was insufficient evidence to have the men stand trial for the crime.

Thorne and Parris, who were alleged to have murdered Taylor on April 1, 2016, at Georgetown, were freed by city magistrate Leron Daly at the conclusion of the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the charge against them.

Taylor’s murder was believed to be in reprisal for the killing of Kevon Payne, who was gunned down on March 29, 2016.

Taylor, of Adelaide and Sussex streets, Charlestown, was sitting in a chair in front of his residence when two men rode up on a motorcycle and one of them opened fire.