POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A man was arrested after the son of a pastor was murdered outside a Winter Haven church early Sunday morning — though detectives are still searching for the motive, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said that 20-year-old Roderick Wilson, Jr. was found shot to death in the parking lot of the Pentecostal Church of God around 1:45 a.m.
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Wilson’s father is a pastor at the church, and Wilson had been living in an apartment on the church’s property at the time, deputies added.
In a release, detectives said that Taquion “Quan” Cotton, 22 — who lives a few streets over from the church — was accused of killing Wilson.
Security footage from a nearby building captured the murder, though no information has been uncovered about the motive, investigators said.
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“Detectives are still trying to determine Taquion Cotton’s motivation to commit this murder,” Sheriff Grady Judd said. “At this time, there is no indication the two men knew each other prior to tonight. Despite the murderer being locked up, there is still work to be done. Please keep Roderick Wilson’s family in your thoughts and prayers.”
Deputies said that they found Cotton in the roadway not far from the crime scene, though he fled to a nearby home, battering a woman who lived there and putting her in a chokehold while trying to get inside.
However, Cotton’s mother — who lives in the area — ran to the woman’s aid, helping deputies apprehend her son, the release states.
In response, Cotton began biting his mother, so deputies Tasered him to protect the two women and bring him into custody, according to the sheriff’s office.
After being captured, Cotton yelled at his mother, demanding that she not press charges against him for biting her, deputies said.
According to detectives, Cotton’s prior criminal history includes 11 felonies and six misdemeanors, consisting of attempted murder, aggravated battery on a pregnant woman, burglaries, thefts, batteries, drug and weapons violations, and resisting.
In this case, Cotton faces charges of first-degree murder, burglary with battery, kidnapping, resisting with violence, harassing in a felony proceeding, tampering with physical evidence, discharging a firearm in a residential area, and resisting without violence.
At this time, the firearm Cotton is accused of using has not been recovered, deputies explained.
Anyone with information on this murder, the firearm or the relationship between the two men is urged to contact the sheriff’s office at (863) 298-6200. Alternatively, tips can be made anonymously to Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS.
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