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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- November 29, 2017
Court
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Homicides
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Suspects
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In a hearing Monday, Judge Zoe Bush ruled substantial probable cause exists to hold Talib Clay for allegedly murdering Ernest Edwin Baylor, Jr. killing.
On Friday, Oct. 27, police found Ernest Edwin Baylor, Jr. with gunshot wounds in the 2200 block of Hunter Place, SE. Baylor was taken to a local hospital for treatment and was pronounced after life-saving efforts failed. A little more than two weeks later, 28-year-old Talib Clay was arrested and charged with first-degree murder while armed for Baylor’s murder.
Baylor’s family and close friends sat in court during Clay’s preliminary hearing, as the prosecution argued that enough evidence existed to hold Clay for the murder. Homicide detective Thomas Roy testified that a surveillance video and a photograph show Clay’s car at the scene of the crime during the murder. According to charging documents, Clay had admitted in an interview that only he and his girlfriend had the key to his car and consistently drove it. The government also argued that Clay had a motive in the crime because Baylor had admitted a few days earlier that he had murdered one of Clay’s close friends.
Clay’s attorney argued for the judge to release Clay, at least until the government found more evidence. During cross examination of detective Roy, the detective testified that two of the witnesses had described the shooter as being the same height as Baylor. The defense argued the witnesses were describing a different man because Clay’s height is substantially taller than Baylor’s. According to the defense, another man fits the description the two witnesses gave at the scene. That man allegedly also has a motive in the crime because he had gotten into an intense argument with Baylor a few days prior to the incident, Clay’s attorney said.
Because of his car’s appearance at the scene, and the possibility of a motive, the judge ordered Clay held.
He is scheduled for a felony status conference on March 2, 2018.