[10/31/02]The investigation into the death of Jimmie Taylor is a priority case for the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol and has been assigned four detectives, said Maj. Marvin Curtis, head of the state police criminal investigation division.

Curtis, a former officer in Vicksburg and Warren County law enforcement agencies, said investigators are still trying to track down all 50 potential witnesses from the party Saturday night where Taylor, 22, was shot by Deputy Sheriff Lionel Johnson, 27.

“Everything is running according to plan, but we’re not to the point where we can say anything one way or the other,” Curtis said, adding the case was unusual because of the number of witnesses who have to be interviewed.

Many of them are high school students who were at the Taylor home at 4808 Halls Ferry at a birthday party for Maurice Taylor, 17.

A wake for Jimmie Taylor will be from 6 until 7 tonight at Walker Funeral Home in Rolling Fork. Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mr. Zion M.B. Church in Cary.

Taylor died less than 24 hours after he was shot once in the upper left thigh. A Tuesday autopsy revealed he bled to death internally.

Johnson was one of two law enforcement officers responding to a 911 dispatch to the Taylor home, and has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the state investigation. He has made no public statement, but reports show he triggered his “officer in trouble” emergency signal to alert 911 dispatchers of the seriousness of the situation.

“We’re not going to get any formal written reports for months,” said Warren County District Attorney Gil Martin, who said the case will be reviewed by a grand jury whenever the investigation is complete.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said Johnson could remain on leave until then.

“That’s an administrative decision that will have to be made as the investigation progresses,” Pace said.

Johnson’s personnel records have also been turned over to the state investigators, but Pace would not comment on the officer’s record during his six years in law enforcement.

“There will be a complete and thorough investigation into the background of everyone involved in this,” Curtis said.

Witnesses and family members have said that Taylor was in handcuffs when he was shot, while an attorney for Johnson has said it was clear the shooting was in self-defense while the deputy was being choked. Tests by pathologists on Taylor’s wrists and clothing looking for traces of metal will not be available for weeks, Warren County Coroner John Thomason said.

Attorney David Sessums said witnesses who reported that Taylor was wearing handcuffs when he was shot are either “seriously mistaken or they’re a liar.

“I’ve got a client and a good deputy that’s getting smeared,” Sessums said.

Other officers and agencies converged on the scene around 11 p.m. Saturday after Johnson and another unidentified deputy made the initial response about a crowd gathered outside the Taylor residence.

Maurice Taylor was also injured and taken to the hospital. He was detained by the sheriff’s department, but was later released to his mother.

The Taylor family has declined comment, as has their attorney.