CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The trial for the man accused of killing Capital High School Kelvin “KJ” Taylor student has been pushed back to the spring. The trial was originally set for Monday.
Dekotis Thomas, 20 of Charleston will stand trial on April 11. He appeared from the South Central Regional Jail on Monday during the virtual hearing.
Taylor, 18, a two-sport star at Capital, was shot and killed the evening of April 7, as he stood along Central Avenue on Charleston’s West Side.
The state and defense on the case both agreed to the delay, saying DNA still needed to be finished by the West Virginia State Police.
Authorities arrested Thomas on July 8 following a two-hour stand-off in Akron, Ohio. Kanawha County Prosecutor Chuck Miller and Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper signed the governor’s warrant to start the extradition process for someone who fled a state to avoid prosecution later in July.
Thomas also faces charges for the 2019 shooting of 28-year-old Antwan Curnell. Thomas allegedly shot Curnell, a Dunbar resident, on Interstate 77 at the northbound Westmoreland Road exit. Curnell was pronounced dead at Charleston Area Medical Center General Hospital.