Hitman who stalked victim for days going to prison for life, SC prosecutor says
A South Carolina man is going to prison after recently being found guilty of murder, according to the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Following a weeklong trial that ended Sept. 19, North Charleston resident Quinton Anthony Taylor, who was called a “hitman,” was sentenced to life in prison, the Solicitor’s Office said in a news release.
A Charleston County jury also found the 41-year-old Taylor guilty of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, according to the release.
The charges are connected to a deadly shooting on May 6, 2020, the Solicitor’s Office said.
At about 4:40 a.m., Taylor shot the victim six times as he left a house on Gullah Avenue in North Charleston, according to the release. Taylor had been tracking the victim for days via a GPS tracker placed on the victim’s car, the Solicitor’s Office said.
The North Charleston Police Department responded and collected video footage of the shooting from several nearby residences and businesses, according to the release. Officers also saw a black Dodge Ram pickup truck circling the area from the time the victim arrived, 3 hours before the gunfire, as well as in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the Solicitor’s Office said. The truck was rented from Enterprise by Taylor, who listed his address, phone number and email address, according to the release.
Officers stopped Taylor in the Dodge Ram 12 hours after the shooting, the Solicitor’s Office said. Inside the rental truck, police found Taylor’s iPhone, a black T-shirt, as well as a purple Crown Royal bag containing a black ski mask and $11,300 in cash, according to the release.
The Solicitor’s Office said that investigators found a variety of text messages and phone calls on Taylor’s iPhone, beginning 9 days before the victim was killed to the hours following the shooting, including a message minutes after the gunfire with a one word message: “Done.”
Detectives determined that Taylor had been hired to kill the victim by an inmate at Evans Correctional Institution in Bennettsville, who has since been charged with accessory before the fact of murder, according to the release. Information about why the inmate wanted the victim dead was not available.
Police learned that the inmate coordinated with a third party to provide payment to Taylor, and cell tower location information confirmed that Taylor and the third party met briefly in West Ashley just hours before Taylor was ultimately detained by police, the Solicitor’s Office said. There was no word if the third party is facing criminal charges.
Crime scene investigators also found a single unfired round at Taylor’s residence that matched the brand and caliber of the fired shell casings from the crime scene, according to the release.
The Solicitor’s Office said that Taylor had previously been convicted of third-degree burglary, unlawful carrying of a pistol, disturbing schools, unlawful use of a telephone, breaking & entering a motor vehicle, possession of cocaine base, possession of marijuana, possession of stolen vehicle and possession of a weapon.
Managing Assistant Solicitor Daniel Cooper and Assistant Solicitor Catherine Fries prosecuted the case for the Solicitor’s Office. Lowcountry attorney’s Peter McCoy and Melisa Gay were Taylor’s lawyers, Charleston County court records show.
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This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 10:51 AM with the headline "Hitman who stalked victim for days going to prison for life, SC prosecutor says."
