Denisha Taylor, 34, was sentenced by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Dennis Adkins to a total of two years in prison on counts of tampering with evidence and obstructing justice, both felonies. She will receive credit for three days already spent in confinement, according to court documents.
The shooting
Taylor was originally charged along with Tommy Moreland, 31; Baretta Byrdsong, 27; and Darrell Bostic Jr., 28 in the 2023 shooting.
On Nov. 17, Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a shooting report near Turner Road and Philadelphia Avenue in Harrison Twp. and found that a private vehicle already took Heaven to Miami Valley Hospital.
The girl was pronounced dead at the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.
At the time of the shooting, she had been staying in a group home, and Baretta Byrdsong was driving her to get money for a field trip, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office. Byrdsong was a staff member at the home, the prosecutor’s office said.
While on the way back, Moreland pulled up to their vehicle in a rented RAV-4 and shot at them multiple times, according to the prosecutor’s office and court documents.
Moreland was reportedly trying to shoot Byrdsong, as they had an ongoing feud, according to Vandalia Municipal Court records. Byrdsong was also injured in the shooting.
Investigators believe Bostic and Taylor were both in the vehicle with Moreland during the shooting, and the SUV was rented in Taylor’s name, according to Vandalia court records and a sentencing memorandum filed in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.
Police found that Moreland was driving the rented vehicle, and a license plate reader saw that it was in the area at the time of the shooting.
After the shooting
According to court documents, afterward Moreland and Taylor reportedly visited two different car washes to “deep clean” the SUV.
Soon after visiting the second car wash, detectives in unmarked patrol vehicles started watching the SUV near the Englewood Kroger, and Moreland fled, investigators said in court documents.
Detectives turned on their lights and sirens and pursued, with Moreland reportedly driving up to 70 mph and running through red lights as he led them onto Interstate 70, drove through New Lebanon and Farmersville and finally abandoned the SUV in a field on Havermale Road.
Law enforcement didn’t find Moreland, but he was eventually arrested in March 2024 when he showed up to court for an unrelated case.
Taylor was reportedly a passenger in the vehicle during the pursuit, and was later identified as a person of interest in the shooting. She reportedly turned herself in to police and told detectives Moreland fled because he thought he saw an undercover detective vehicle.
Other sentences
Moreland was sentenced to 37 to 46 ½ years to life in prison after he was convicted of three counts of felonious assault, two counts of murder and tampering with evidence and one count each of discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises, improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer.
Byrdsong was sentenced to two and a half years for endangering children and aggravated assault charges.
Bostic was sentenced to 11 to 16 1/2 years in prison on one count of complicity to commit involuntary manslaughter.
Staff writers Jen Balduf and Kristen Spicker contributed to this report.
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