By Julia Marnin
Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.)
BOWLING GREEN, Fla. — An inmate convicted of murder mailed a threatening letter to a Florida prosecutor who prosecuted his case — and signed the letter with his full name, federal officials said.
In the letter Taylor Ryan Hill sent from state prison on Feb. 12, he threatened to have the assistant state attorney in Clay County and the judge who issued him his sentence killed, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
“I’m going to get y’all if it’s the last thing in the world I do(.),” Hill’s letter reads in part, according to court documents. “I want you to know I’m coming for y’all so it’s no surprise to you. I want you to think about me before you die(.)”
The threats were sent in an envelope that had a return address listing “Taylor Hill,” his inmate number and the address of Hardee Correctional Institution in Bowling Green, where Hill is incarcerated, prosecutors said. The men’s prison is about a 55-mile drive southeast from Tampa.
Hill, 27, of Jacksonville , has pleaded guilty to mailing threatening communications, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a Dec. 4 news release.
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His federal defender didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Dec. 5.
The state judge, who federal prosecutors said Hill threatened, had sentenced him to life in prison in 2021 in connection with fatally shooting two people, First Coast News reported.
Hill shot three people in Keystone Heights on Dec. 31, 2019, killing Liza Dukes and James Wooten, according to the outlet. A third person, Shayne Wooten, who was shot survived, First Coast News reported.
The shooting happened during a fight at a Keystone Heights home, according to The Florida Times-Union. Keystone Heights is about a 55-mile drive southwest from Jacksonville.
In the letter Hill mailed to the state prosecutor, he wrote: “I want the judge that sentenced me to think about my freedom before he dies and if I can’t get y’all(,) I’ll take someone you love in exchange,” court documents show.
He described himself as a “known gang member,” and a “Latin king,” in his message, according to court documents.
Hill is facing up to five years in prison in connection with the threats, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
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