Shooting Death of Roseville Cabbie Leads to First-Degree Murder Indictment

The recent shooting death of a cab driver from Roseville has led to new murder charges against a Robbinsdale man, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office reported Friday.

The County Grand Jury on Thursday returned a first-degree murder indictment  against Samuel Johosephat Taylor; 20, of Robbinsdale; in the murder of a cab driver William Harper, 56, according to spokesman for Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.
Taylor shot Harper to death on March 14 while committing an aggravated robbery, according to the Grand Jury's indictment.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said it convened the Grand Jury and also obtained an indictment for second-degree murder against Taylor. "He (Taylor) has been held on a criminal complaint for second-degree murder filed March 22," Freeman's office said.

After the shooting, Bob Harper told Roseville Patch that his brother William Harper had just returned to cabdriving a week before his death after years of driving limousines.

“He just basically got that cab,” Bob Harper said. “I don’t know why he went back to cab driving.” (To read the full story,

Meanwhile, Taylor’s murder trial is set to begin Monday before Hennepin County District Judge Daniel Moreno, according to Freeman's office. Taylor was expected to make his first appearance on the first-degree murder charge today (Friday), Freeman's office said.