Latest news with #AutomatedFingerprintIdentificationSystem
New York Post
28-04-2025
- New York Post
‘Career criminal' arrested in decades-old murder of a Florida real estate broker based on overlooked fingerpirnt evidence
A 'career criminal' has been arrested in the nearly 40-year-old cold-case murder of a Florida real estate broker based on fingerprint evidence that was poverlooked at the time, authorities said. Jeffrey Taylor, 64, has been arrested for the murder of Shirley Brant, a 49-year-old mother and owner of Brant Realty Corporation, who was shot and killed in her office during an attempted robbery on June 13, 1986, North Miami Beach police announced Friday, according to CBS News. Taylor was identified and arrested after a fingerprint that previously didn't meet the criteria for evidence was recovered from the crime scene, North Miami Beach Police Chief Juan Pinillos said. Advertisement 4 Jeffrey Taylor was arrested Thursday for the nearly 40-year-old cold case murder of real estate broker Shirley Brant. NBC6 The fingerprint was run through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System during a 2023 cold case review of one of the city's longest unsolved murders, cops said. It came through as a match for Taylor, cops said, calling him a 'career criminal.' Advertisement A coworker of Brant's saw two men enter the office on the day of her murder — and then heard her scream, 'Don't shoot!' 4 Police were able to solve Shirley Brant's murder after running old fingerprints that didn't previously meet evidence criteria through an information database. Ben Brant Taylor was the one to pull the trigger, cops now allege. He was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree murder with a firearm. Two retired sergeants, Pam Denham and Yvette Darden, returned to work on the case, one of the city's longest unsolved murders, cops said. Advertisement Brant's family expressed gratitude toward detectives for 'all the hours they tirelessly worked to solve this case,' at a news conference Friday afternoon. 4 Jeffrey Taylor allegedly pulled the trigger on Brant, cops said. Ben Brant 'It affected everyone, I was working with her at the time,' her son, Ben Brant, told the press conference, the outlet reported. 'She was ahead of her time… breaking the glass ceiling, and she gave her money to philanthropy,' he said. Advertisement 4 'It affected everyone, I was working with her at the time,' her son, Ben Brant, told reporters of his mother's murder. NBC6 Brant's husband died before Taylor could be caught, according to the outlet. 'He missed my mom terribly, terribly. He hired a private eye to look over things and to see that everything was done,' their son told People.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Yahoo
Florida Man Arrested Decades After 1986 Killing of Beloved Real Estate Developer Who Was Shot in Office
Florida authorities have made an arrest in the 1986 cold case murder of a successful commercial real estate developer. Jeffrey Taylor, 64, was taken into custody Thursday, April 24, in connection with the killing of 49-year-old Shirley Brant. He is charged with second-degree murder with a firearm. 'The resolution of this case reflects our department's commitment to justice, no matter how much time has passed,' said Chief of Police Juan Pinillos. 'We hope this arrest brings a measure of closure to the Brant family and all who knew her.' Authorities allege Taylor left fingerprints at the crime scene but they were never entered into the Automated Fingerprint Identification System "due to not meeting certain criteria at the time," North Miami police said in a press release. Investigators resubmitted the fingerprints for analysis and allegedly matched the prints to Taylor in March. Brant was on the phone with a client in her real estate office in North Miami Beach when two intruders entered on June 13, 1986. A temporary employee told police she heard Brant scream and then witnessed one of the males attempting to take the phone away from her. Related: A Beloved Fla. Mom Was Fatally Shot in Her Real Estate Office in 1986, and Police Have Reopened Investigation The witness then heard Brant say, "Don't shoot!" before she was shot, North Miami Beach police detective Pam Denham previously told PEOPLE. Police allege Taylor pulled the trigger. At the time, the witness told the police that the two men were 'nicely dressed,' Denham said. 'They were in dress pants and a long-sleeve collared shirt. Maybe that was because they didn't want to stand out and they wanted to look professional.' The two men absconded with cash and credit cards before fleeing the scene. Brant's death devastated her four children as well as her husband, local dentist Dr. Lawrence Brant, who "never got over it," Brant's son, Dr. Steven Brant, previously told PEOPLE. "He missed my mom terribly, terribly. He hired a private eye to look over things and to see that everything was done."(Shirley Brant's grandson, who is the nephew of Steven Brant, is an editor at PEOPLE.) Steven Brant described his mother as 'a very, very talented woman,' who sang on cruise ships with her sister in the 1960s before becoming a real estate agent in the early 70s. He last saw his mother two weeks before her murder. 'We had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant in Gainesville," he said. "And we were all sitting around the table. She passed away one week before her 50th birthday. She said she had seen a birthday card about 50th birthdays, and she said on the card it said, 'It's nifty to be 50.' But she never made it to 50.' Read the original article on People
CBS News
25-04-2025
- CBS News
North Miami Beach police use fingerprints to solve 39-year-old murder case, arrest made
An arrest has been made in the murder of a North Miami Beach real estate broker nearly 40 years ago. Police said two years ago, a significant breakthrough was made in the 1986 unsolved murder of Shirley Brant, owner of Brant Realty Corporation. On Thursday, 64-year-old Jeffrey Taylor was arrested in connection to her murder, investigators said. On June 13, 1986, Brant was fatally shot in her office at NE 163 Street and NE 18th Avenue while talking on the phone with a client. Shirley Brant North Miami Beach Police A temporary employee said two men came into the office and demanded that Brant hang up the phone. She said she then heard Brant scream. As she turned around, she saw that one of the men was attempting to take the phone away from her. Then, the witness heard her say, 'Don't shoot!' immediately before hearing a gunshot. Police said the two men stole cash and credit cards before leaving. Brant was taken to Parkway Regional Hospital where she died. Reviving the cold case Over the years, North Miami Beach and Miami-Dade police tried to figure out who shot her to no avail In Jan. 2023, North Miami Beach dedicated the Cold Case Unit to reinvestigate unsolved murder cases. During a review of the Brant case, previously collected fingerprints were located in the Miami-Dade Police Archives. Police said these prints were lifted from Brant's office after the shooting but were never entered into the AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System), due to not meeting certain criteria at the time. Cold Case detectives submitted the fingerprints for analysis and on March 21, 2025, the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office crime lab matched the prints to Taylor. On Thursday, April 24, Taylor was taken into custody and has been charged with second-degree murder with a firearm in connection to Brant's death. "We hope this arrest brings a measure of closure to the Brant family and all who knew her," North Miami Beach police Chief Juan Pinillos said in a statement.
Axios
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
The forensic tool on Seattle's ballot
Seattle voters have a single issue on the special election ballot next Tuesday: whether to renew a levy that pays for a fingerprinting system that police use to solve crimes. Why it matters: The Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) is used by all King County cities and unincorporated areas, storing nearly 3 million records that can be matched to incoming or unidentified prints. The program pays for terminals that record fingerprints and palm prints at police stations, mobile devices that officers can use to identify people in the field, and staff who help process crime scene evidence, among other services. By the numbers: The renewed levy would last seven years, costing 2.75 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2026, the first year that it would be in effect. For a home assessed at $850,000 — roughly the median assessed value in King County — the owners would pay about $23 for the levy next year. What they're saying: In the county voter pamphlet, the committee urging a "yes" vote on the measure — a group that includes King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall — says that AFIS is an "essential forensic tool" that "has been instrumental in solving everything from violent offenses to burglaries." "Your yes vote continues the ability to provide closure for victims and their families," the statement adds. No statement opposing the ballot measure was submitted to King County Elections for inclusion in the voter pamphlet.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Yahoo
Gadsden County Sheriff's Office identifies 'monster' who shot five people and killed two
Authorities have identified the man who shot five people, killing two and injuring a deputy, in a horrific incident last week that spanned several counties in North Florida and led to a massive manhunt by police. Gadsden County Sheriff's Office and Sheriff Morris Young identified the killer as Dominic Caroway, a 44-year-old man from Avondale, Arizona. 'Dominic appears to have committed his heinous crimes as a 'lone wolf' (criminal acting alone and independent of others with no known affiliations),' the Sheriff's Office said in a Monday Facebook post. The Sheriff's Office said his identity was confirmed through biometric identification, AFIS, the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, facial recognition technology and state of Arizona motor vehicle databases. 'Sheriff Young stated that the monster got what he deserved after taking the lives of innocent people and injuring three others,' the Sheriff's Office said in the post. He added that 'this type of criminal behavior has to stop' and with the help of federal, state and local law enforcement, it 'will be stopped.' 'Sheriff Young stated that criminal behavior of this nature can send shock waves of fear into a small community like Gadsden,' the Sheriff's Office said.. Lastly, Sheriff Young stated that no one should or will have to live in fear while living, visiting or working in Gadsden!!" The man robbed the Mobil Gas Station and Food Mart on Friday afternoon, shooting four people, killing the cashier, Laura Darley, and a beer distributor, Julian Green of Tallahassee, and injuring two customers outside. He fled the scene, prompting a multi-agency manhunt by state and local law enforcement agencies. After fleeing the scene, he led deputies, state troopers and other agencies on a chase early Saturday that ended with a crash in Suwannee County. After shooting and injuring a deputy and running away, he was killed in a confrontation with Live Oak police. Little is known about Caroway, who appears to have a low profile online. "We call him the mystery man, because we really don't know who he is," Young said Monday during a visit to Suwannee County. Law enforcement officials, including Young, and state officials gathered Monday at the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office to honor Deputy Justin Dalton, who was shot in the foot during the incident. Dalton, who was using crutches to walk, was presented with the U.S. flag that was flying over the state Capitol at the time of the shooting. State Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, and state Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, both participated in the ceremony. Simon urged people not to forget about the victims in Gadsden County who "won't get a chance to hug their loved ones again." He and Shoaf both praised law enforcement. "As a father, I think about it, my kids could have been at that gas station or they could have been on the interstate or they could have been at the place where it ended," Shoaf said. "Everybody else runs away. You run toward it. So thank you." Dalton thanked fellow officers who responded to the incident and officials who attended the ceremony. "Thank you all for everybody coming today," Dalton said. "I appreciate it. It means a lot to me and my family." Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@ or 850-599-2180. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Gadsden County sheriff IDs 'monster' who shot 5 people and killed 2
