Rolling Meadows murder trial has several outbursts

Defense attorney admonitions to stay silent did not stop Patrick Taylor from reacting audibly to the testimony of prosecution witnesses as his trial for the 2006 murder of Rolling Meadows resident Marquis Lovings entered its second day.

During testimony from Rolling Meadows detective Dan Cook Wednesday, Taylor uttered “lying” in an audible whisper. He also muttered and shook his head at earlier statements prosecution witness Kenneth Slaughter made.

While Taylor's actions drew little reaction from Cook County Judge Hyman Riebman, Riebman earlier informed both sides he would not tolerate improper behavior on the part of witnesses or observers. Riebman's warning followed a claim by defense attorneys that a prosecution witness taunted Taylor as he left the courtroom and that a member of the gallery gestured improperly. Riebman said he had not observed that behavior but stated — in no uncertain terms — that it was “not going to be a problem” in his courtroom.

Slaughter, an acquaintance of Lovings who admitted he occasionally bought marijuana from the victim, testified that he saw Taylor — who he knew by his nickname “Black Pat” — driving a new car and handing out dollar bills at a football game shortly after Lovings' death. A few weeks later, Slaughter said, he encountered Taylor, who told him he had to “lay a (expletive) down,” which Slaughter said was street parlance for robbing or killing someone.

Slaughter testified he believed Taylor was referring to Lovings. Slaughter said he told one of Lovings' brothers, who passed the information to eyewitness Veljko “Charles” Vjelica, who contacted Rolling Meadows police.

Cook County Assistant Public Defender Jim Mullenix questioned the credibility of Slaughter, who admitted that he and Taylor did not associate. That prompted Mullenix's suggestion that Taylor was unlikely to confide in a near-stranger that he had killed someone. Slaughter also admitted that he smoked marijuana several times a week, which Mullenix suggested might have affected his memory. Mullenix also questioned why Slaughter didn't immediately tell police about Taylor's admission instead of relaying it to Lovings' family.

Cook testified that four of Lovings' college friends, who were at his Rolling Meadows condo on the night of the attack, identified Taylor as the shooter, who they described wearing an orange track suit and firing a gun. Days later, they picked Taylor out of a photo lineup, Cook said. A year later, when police had Taylor in custody, the witnesses picked him out of a live lineup, Cook said.

Cook testified that he found Taylor in January 2007 at his Chicago residence.

“He was a mess,” said Cook, responding to prosecutors' question about Taylor's appearance. “He had open wounds. He had a colostomy bag and he needed a walker to walk. He said he was going to Stroger Hospital to have several bullets removed.”

Authorities say that between the time of Lovings' murder and the time of his arrest, Taylor was shot more than 20 times.

Cook stated he did not arrest Taylor in January 2007 because the department could not properly care for his medical needs and they did not consider him a flight risk.

Rolling Meadows police took Taylor into custody on Aug. 6, 2007, nearly one year after the murder, Cook said.

Testimony continues Thursday in Rolling Meadows.