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Gary Jaquise Abraham, 18, of Aiken stands before City Judge Scott Long during a bond hearing on July 28, 2024. He has been charged with murder, three counts of attempted murder and one count of possessing a deadly weapon for his alleged role in the July 20 shooting in Myrtle Beach that killed 16-year-old Jakolbi Taylor.
- Nicole Ziege/Staff
Jakolbi Taylor was killed July 20 in Myrtle Beach. The 16-year-old was in town for a basketball tournament.
- Obituary
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Local Government Reporter covering Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and unincorporated Horry County.
Nicole Ziege
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Gary Jaquise Abraham, 18, of Aiken stands before City Judge Scott Long during a bond hearing on July 28, 2024. He has been charged with murder, three counts of attempted murder and one count of possessing a deadly weapon for his alleged role in the July 20 shooting in Myrtle Beach that killed 16-year-old Jakolbi Taylor.
- Nicole Ziege/Staff
Jakolbi Taylor was killed July 20 in Myrtle Beach. The 16-year-old was in town for a basketball tournament.
- Obituary
MYRTLE BEACH – City police have charged an 18-year-old from Aiken with murdering a Virginia high school student who came to the Grand Strand for a basketball tournament earlier this month.
Along with the murder charge, Gary Jaquise Abraham also faces three counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, authorities said. The charges stem from the July 20 shooting that killed 16-year-old Jakolbi Taylor ofRoanoke, Va.
Police say Abraham shot Taylor around 1:10 a.m. at the 16th Avenue North beach access. Taylor died at the scene.
Abraham faced City Judge Scott Long at 3 p.m. July 28 for a bond hearing, but Long said he could not set bond for a murder charge. Abraham will next face a circuit court judge in General Sessions Court. His initial appearance is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sept. 20 in Conway.
In South Carolina, a murder conviction carries a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and can result in a life sentence or the death penalty, Long said. Abraham also faces up to 30 years for each of the attempted murder charges.
Little information has been provided about the case, and no additional details were shared during the bond hearing. The Post and Courier has requested the arrest warrants for Abraham.
The bond hearing took place the day after Taylor’s funeralwas held at Patrick Henry High School where he had been a star point guard.The Roanoke Times reported that more than 1,000 people attended the service.
Within hours of the funeral’s conclusion, police announced that a suspect was in custody.
In the wake of Taylor's death, friends and family have sought answers and promoted the hashtag #justiceforkolbi on social media.
During Taylor's funeral, which was streamed on Facebook, friends and family described him as a faithful Christian and an intense competitor who scored 43 points in his final game.
“He wants us to go on," Taylor's aunt, Gail Thompson, said. "It’s hard. It’s very hard. But his favorite scripture is the same as mine [Romans 8:28], ‘All things work together.’ It doesn’t look like it, but he knew something, that they do work together for the good.”
As he eulogized Taylor,Bishop J.L. Jackson spoke about the need for justice, a common refrain in the service. Jackson mentioned that he had pastor friends in Myrtle Beach and connections with the NAACP there. The unsolved nature of the case loomed large.
“I told them, ‘Make some noise until we can hear you in Roanoke,” he said. “How dare y’all let that happen in Myrtle Beach. If it were in Virginia, you would want us to do something about it, so y’all make sure you do something about it down there. Enough is enough. We’ve done this too many times. And there are too many families that still don’t have justice.”
Investigators are asking anyone with information about the case to call the Myrtle Beach Police Department at 843-918-1382.
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Follow Nicole Ziege on Twitter @NicoleZiege.
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Nicole Ziege
Local Government Reporter covering Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and unincorporated Horry County.
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