Man charged after blood leads to body

Little Rock police followed a blood trail down an alley late Tuesday to find a man who was stabbed to death near a homeless man’s campsite.

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Earlier, about 11:25 p.m., the homeless man, Leslie Webb, was spotted by officers at the intersection of La Harpe Boulevard and State Street, waving his arms about.

When officers pulled over, they noticed that Webb, 30, was covered in blood and had bruises on his face, according to reports. He pointed officers toward his tent and said that he had just fled from there after he stabbed an intruder.

Webb handed officers a knife, according to police reports, and led them to his small shelter of a blanket, sheets and towels in the 1400 block of North Street, 15 feet from the street behind the cover of trees, brush and bamboo.

Amid the empty bottles, hanging socks and mounds of cigarette butts, officers found a fresh blood trail that wound over dirt and leaves, and they followed it onto North Street, reports state.

Officers followed the blood into an alley about 20 yards away and, a few hundred feet from the nearby Episcopal Collegiate School playground, officers found a dead man later identified as Willie Taylor.

According to arrest affidavits, Taylor, 45, had stab wounds in the right side of his neck and in his chest, and his left hand had several small cuts, which are typically called “defense wounds.”

Initially, Webb told officers that he was asleep in his tent when he woke up and found an unknown black man inside, carrying a beer in one hand and a flashlight in the other.

Webb said that the man attacked him with the flashlight and that he pulled his pocketknife in self-defense.

Police spokesman Lt. Sidney Allen could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but detectives’ affidavits indicated that, over time, Webb’s version of the attack started to change.

After being read his Miranda Rights at police headquarters, Webb agreed to give a statement and said that the man who came into his tent, whom he claimed he did not know, was shining a light at him from a cellphone.

According to Webb, the man was “intoxicated and began mumble words in an ‘aggressive manner’” and Webb tried to leave the tent but was stopped when the unknown intruder grabbed him by the arm.

He said he pulled out his knife and warned the unwanted guest, affidavits said. Webb said he stabbed the man in the chest and then again in the neck because he wouldn’t let go.

According to Webb, the man fled, screaming, “It’s me, Willie,” affidavits said.

Detectives noted that at that point in the interview, Webb became “very agitated” and said “that he panicked and stabbed Willie.”

Webb went on to tell detectives that he did know Taylor and that the North Little Rock man often came by to take the homeless in the area to get food and that the victim had bought him meals before.

Detectives said that they found a note in Taylor’s wallet that read, “If you want u can do something When I’m a sleep don’t say nothing.”

Given the changes in the man’s story, investigators speculated that the meeting was prearranged and that Webb knew whom he was stabbing.

Webb, who is a former Marine in town seeking mental-health treatment, according to court officials, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Taylor’s death marks the 19th homicide in Little Rock this year, and it is the seventh killing in six days. At this point last year, there were only seven recorded homicides in the capital city.

On Wednesday morning, Webb pleaded innocent in Little Rock District Court, where Judge Alice Lightle set his bail at $1 million.

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 04/24/2014

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