MIRAMAR, Fla. – Jaime Taylor and Anthony Souvenir were both fathers of 1-year-old children. They could have talked about what they had in common, but instead, their meeting, recorded on video, ended in tragedy in Broward County.
Surveillance video shows them at Walgreens on Feb. 3, at 2499 SW 101 Ave., in Miramar. Souvenir died on his 27th birthday. Over a month later, with his defense attorneys, Taylor described his fear and Souvenir’s anger.
Noon report:
Souvenir, whose mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, walked away from his son and girlfriend to approach Taylor, 28, who was shopping alone in the pharmacy store, having a conversation on his phone.
“He thought I was looking at his girl,” Taylor said adding, “And then, he told me that I am ‘looking too hard!’”
Taylor, who had played football for Booker T. Washington High School and Northwest Missouri State, said he tried to avoid arguing with Souvenir, but they were both carrying guns.
“I shot when he pulled it out,” Taylor said.
Souvenir, who was born in Miami, died at the hospital. Taylor surrendered to Miramar police officers after running away during the shooting at about 11:25 a.m. Chief Delrish Moss described the shooting as “a customer dispute.”
Broward County Sheriff’s Office correctional deputies booked Taylor at the main jail in Fort Lauderdale. He faced a murder charge when he appeared in court and a judge denied him bond.
Souvenir had been at the main jail when he was 24. In 2022, a police officer responded to a road rage incident in Hallandale Beach, and arrested Souvenir after he was allegedly reaching for a loaded gun in a backpack with drugs and an identification that didn’t belong to him, records show.
The case was still pending when Souvenir died and a hearing was set for June. He had pleaded not guilty to charges of open carry of a weapon, possession of marijuana and amphetamine, and unauthorized possession of an ID. It was unclear if the terms of his bond release allowed Souvenir to carry a gun.
On Monday, Taylor was in tears. He covered his face in front of reporters. Attorneys Andrew Rier and Jonathan Jordan were with him. Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which justifies deadly force for self-defense, had prompted prosecutors to drop the manslaughter case against him.
“It was killed or be killed,” Taylor said adding that he was praying for Souvenir’s grieving family.