Prosecution rests in sentencing portion of Christopher Taylor case

The prosecution rested Thursday in the sentencing phase for Christopher Taylor.

This comes after a jury convicted him of deadly conduct in the death of 46-year-old Mauris DeSilva.

On July 31, 2019, police were called to the Spring Condominiums because DeSilva was holding a knife to his own throat. DeSilva was shot by Taylor after he came towards officers with the knife. 

The state argues DeSilva was in a profound mental health crisis and needed help.

The defense argues Taylor had to protect himself because DeSilva was within five feet of him with a knife.

For sentencing, the state presented what they wanted the judge to consider. 

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On Wednesday, they called DeSilva's father, and on Thursday, Jelicka Long, who works at the Spring Condominiums. 

She says in the months before DeSilva's death, he had some behavioral changes and made some residents uncomfortable.

"He was a little more quiet, didn't go out, he used to run every day," Long said. "He would go to the gym and to me, use the equipment inappropriately, would dance in the gym. I'm not sure if he had on headphones or not, I didn't notice any, kind of weird dancing, to my standards, weird."

The state also called multiple officers from the Michael Ramos case. Taylor was previously on trial for his 2020 death.

The case was declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked last fall. A new grand jury did not reindict Taylor in that case.

The judge also heard from Taylor's firearms training instructor, Jonathan Slayton.

"If an officer's three to five feet from a suspect who has a knife and is coming at them, do you believe that's a deadly force situation?" defense attorney Doug O'Connell asked. 

"Yes," Slayton replied.

The defense is scheduled to make their case on Nov. 25 and Nov. 26. The delay is due to scheduling conflicts. The judge will determine Taylor's punishment after that.