Deal of the Day
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Family, friends of slain teen say justice was not served Published: March 25, 2009  Photo by Roslyn Ryan By Michael Copley, Staff Writer Tahliek Taliaferro’s grandmother stood off to the side Monday afternoon, leaning heavily on the arm of a relative, as television camera crews and reporters swarmed other family members and friends of the slain Powhatan teenager. The anger and resentment that had been simmering throughout a tense six hours of waiting had just spilled over as family members staggered through the front doors of the courthouse, all of them in shock, all of them struggling with the same words: involuntary manslaughter. It didn’t take long for the anger to surface. “That is the most racist thing I have ever heard,” yelled one bystander. “But that’s Powhatan.” Amid the rage and the sobbing of those who had known Taliaferro, a popular student-athlete who was shot to death last June after an argument at Sheetz, his sobbing mother was led away from the scene. When a young man angrily told the cameramen that Taliaferro’s grandmother, who had been so close to him, was the one they should be talking to, all eyes turned in the direction he was pointing. But as reporters swarmed around Jean Taliaferro Monday, a brief silence fell. All she could do was shake her head and hold up a trembling hand. After so many months of waiting, it was all just too much. * * * Few things are black and white. The June 24 shooting death of 18-year-old Powhatan High School student Tahliek Taliaferro gripped the county in a sad shock. Now, nine months later, a Powhatan jury of seven men and five women have convicted cousins and codefendants Ethan and Joey Parrish of manslaughter. Both had been charged with first degree murder, malicious wounding and attempted murder. June 24 was, by all accounts, a pleasant summer day. The Parrish cousins spent the day swimming at Powhatan’s Watkins Landing with friends. Taliaferro and his friends played basketball at Powhatan High School. In the early evening, and by pure “happenstance” according to the defense, the Parrish cousins and Stephanie Reynolds encountered Taliaferro and his friends at the Sheetz on Route 60. Words were exchanged and Reynolds made the decision to avoid a mounting conflict by driving Ethan Parrish’s white Dodge Durango out of the gas station parking lot and west onto Route 60. It was noted during court testimony that Joey Parrish and Taliaferro had a long-standing feud that started over a girl Taliaferro had dated and allegedly been physical with. It was also noted that Ethan Parrish did not know Taliaferro before June 24, nor was he aware of the problems between his cousin and Taliaferro. As the Durango pulled out of the parking lot, Joey Parrish allegedly told Taliaferro and five of his friends to follow him if they wanted to fight. Ethan Parrish testified that there was no doubt the other group intended to follow them to fight. As his Durango pulled onto Route 60, he jumped in the back and readied a semiautomatic Mac 90 rifle. The Durango made a u turn and began heading east on route 60 before turning right onto Dorset Road. Ethan Parrish said he intended to go to a friend’s house in Amelia he described as safe and where reinforcements might be. But he changed plans when Joey Parrish told him the boys following them were known to carry guns. “I didn’t want to take a conflict that could involve guns to someone else’s house,” Ethan Parrish testified. The plan, he said, was to scare Taliaferro and his friends. He hoped, he said, that if his car pulled over, then the two cars following them would pass by. If they stopped, he told the court, he intended to scare them by brandishing a firearm. It is unclear as to why Taliaferro and his friends followed the path of the Durango down Dorset. One witness said Taliaferro wanted to find the Durango to fight Joey. As the first of the two cars pulled behind the Durango, now pulled over on Dorset Road, Ethan Parrish says the driver, Lawrence Harris, leaned back and pointed a pistol at him. “All six shots were fired as fast as I could, to keep them from firing at me,” said Ethan Parrish. The first two shots hit the dirt, and the other four struck the vehicle Taliaferro was in, killing him and wounding Courtney Jones. A BB gun pistol was found at Taliaferro’s feet and baseball bats were arranged in the other car, driven by Taliaferro’s friend Kendall Trainum. The Parrishs and Reynolds fled to a house in Amelia and were then aided by friends to the Canadian border. Reynolds returned to turn herself in and the cousins came back to the county four days later to do the same. During testimony last week, the defense made their case for self defense. “The BB pistol is the turning point, if it’s not there this case is very difficult,” said defense attorney Ted Bruns. “The BB gun made an appearance when the shots were fired. [Taliaferro and his friends] were going there to fight. Those boys were chasing Ethan, Joey, and Stephanie. If you perceive a realistic threat to your safety, you have the right to arm yourself.” Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Beasley saw things differently. “Ethan was arming himself to do some serious damage to those boys. This was not an issue of protection; this was Ethan Parrish wanting to inflict serious damage.” The jury began deliberation Monday morning at 9 a.m. — Editor Roslyn Ryan contributed to this story
Related Stories: • Family, friends of slain teen say justice was not served
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Someone of Powhatan
Mar. 31, 2009, 03:10 PM
Justice is being served!!! If you were in jail for 11 years for shooting someone in self- defence, you would think so too!! People need to stop playing pretend here, Tahliek wasn’t a perfect angel either. And we all know it come on. His DAD was in jail too, what does that tell you?? Tahliek’s mom didn’t even raise him!! Powhatan isn’t to blame, and neither is the suspects family! Bornhere of Powhatan, VA
Mar. 28, 2009, 09:31 PM
Oh..and Really5?? I notice you live in Richmond..Do us all a favor..and stay there… Bornhere of Powhatan, VA
Mar. 28, 2009, 09:30 PM
Really5, That has to be one of the most ignorant, ill-thought-out statements I’ve ever seen..Laughable, even…What on earth does John McCain have to do with a slaying that happened LONG before the election?? Come on, man..Think….Use your head for more than a hate weapon. Next thing you’ll be saying is the lunar rotation was to blame, too..and little space aliens actually set this up… Every village has one, I guess…. really5 of richmond
Mar. 28, 2009, 09:26 PM
During the primaries,the majority of the Bornhere of Powhatan, VA
Mar. 28, 2009, 12:26 PM
Vengeance is mine—sayeth the Lord… 14Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 16Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:14-21 KJV
Bornhere of Powhatan, VA
Mar. 28, 2009, 12:24 PM
I honestly, and I’ve been here off and on most of my life, believe that race was not an issue in Powhatan. I grew up, went to school with, and still number amongst my friends, alot of the black folks up here. I have never seen the racism, maybe I’m blind to it, I don’t know..But I have respected black folks just as well as white folks..To me, it’s all in how you handle yourself, how you present yourself. My father has a saying, and it’s so true—“Money can’t buy class, class can’t be learned—-it’s born in.“ And I firmly believe this is true. I was brought up to maintain dignity, at all costs—keep your dirty linen in your own home and don’t go looking for trouble, it won’t find you..And I still believe these principles to be true. And I also firmly believe no matter what your circumstances in life you CAN better yourself, but you have to want to, deep down. I can’t speak to the Parrish boys’ upbringing..I don’t know them. I went to school with several Taliaferros and got along fine with them. My family is a VERY old one in this county, and we’ve co-existed quite well with the black folks in this county. Done business with them, worked alongside them—-absolutely no problems. We treated them with respect and got it back. It seems that that is what’s lacking in this generation—is RESPECT. Respect for YOURSELF, respect for elders and respect for others. That’s not a black/white/hispanic/asian, etc. thing. It’s universal. I don’t see colour. But I do see this situation degenerating into a mess, a mess that someone else is going to get hurt in before it’s over. The NAACP can’t fix this, they are only stirring the pot, stirring the blacks into a frenzy—-and folks——Please, Please hear this—-THEY ARE NOT DOING IT FOR THE TALIAFERROS—-they are doing it to further HATE…They are USING the Taliaferros to STIR HATRED. Please, don’t get mired in this..When you continue the hatred, pot-stirring YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM, not the SOLUTION. skyler of powhatan
Mar. 28, 2009, 11:28 AM
if Ethan said the shooting wads an accident then why did he and joey flee to Canada. the judges didnt use common sense if it was an accident they would’ve stayed and told the cops it was an accident and not run.Powhatan Pride has no room for racism and that was the problem with this very foolish and nieve verdict Walter Ring of Chesterfield County, VA
Mar. 28, 2009, 10:07 AM
The bottom line is that if the Taliferro kid had been the shooter and killer of any White kids that were following him and Taliferro got ANY jail time, y’all would be yelling racism and that justice had not been served. People like you want it both ways. You want the Whites to serve the max time and the blacks not to serve ANY time because it will always be a race issue. And BTW I did not make this a racial issue, Taliferro’s mom and the NAACP did. BTW, it seems awfully strange that MOST of the people commenting do not use their real name or location, and I have not seen anyone post their full name. It does not take a great act of courage to use your real name on the net but it takes a great deal of insecurity NOT to. Bornhere of Powhatan, VA
Mar. 28, 2009, 08:01 AM
ENOUGH of this whining about race..ENOUGH of the persecution complex..4 Oakland police officers were killed last week—all 4 white…shot by a black man..Do you see their families protesting, making right spectacles of themselves?? Each of them left at least one child, most of them had 3..But their families are maintaining their dignity—-which the Taliaferros and their extended crew are NOT..Those families are showing class in their grief and pain..Not trying to make a name for themselves—-which unfortunately the Taliaferros don’t need to do..They already have enough folks in the correctional system here. And now the Parrishes have their requisite members in that Elite Club-Jail.. I grew up here..Have seen over 45 years what goes on, as well as having lived other places in the world. Powhatan does NOT have a race problem, people..or we DIDN’T til this.. People..GROW UP..Move on..You have lost a son, and it’s a right tragedy. But you can’t bring him back with this kind of behavior. All you’re going to do is divide the camps and in the end someone innocent is going to get hurt..Maybe that will make you feel better… Oh, and by the way?? I don’t see the NAACP getting involved in the Oakland police officer slayings….hmmmm..wonder why?? Tom
Mar. 27, 2009, 12:58 PM
@REOIULI - nice cut and paste job. Your comments are just as irrelevant and ignorant as they were the first time. Submit Your Comments Below Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. |
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