Roderick Wilson Jr. of Winter Haven, Polk County, Florida, United States has died. He was 20.
Wilson’s father is a pastor at the Pentecostal Church of God in Winter Haven. Taquion “Quan” Cotton, 22, lives in an apartment in the church.
On October 22, 2023, Cotton allegedly fatally shot Wilson in the parking lot of the church. There is no indication the two men knew each other before the shooting, according to Polk County sheriff Grady Judd.
Security cameras on a nearby building captured the shooting. After the shooting, Cotton allegedly ran into a nearby home where he put a woman in a chokehold.
At 1:47 a.m., Wilson’s body was found in the parking lot. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the site of the shooting.
Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies searched for the suspect and found Cotton standing in the roadway. One of the deputies fired a Taser at the suspect.
Cotton allegedly bit his mother when she helped the deputies arrest him. He was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, burglary with battery, battery-domestic with prior conviction, resisting with violence, resisting without violence, harassing in a felony proceeding, tampering with physical evidence and discharging a firearm in a residential area.
On October 23, 2023, Cotton made his first appearance in court. The judge ordered him held without bond.
CONAN Daily 