A tense traffic run-in in Murray Hill has now ended with a 12-year prison sentence for a Jacksonville woman who admitted to shooting another woman in the head during a confrontation tied to a recent breakup.
The sentence was handed down Thursday after 40-year-old Latorray Collins quietly changed her plea to guilty on an attempted murder charge ahead of her scheduled court appearance. Court records cited by News4JAX indicate Collins had initially pleaded not guilty and was staring at a possible 15-year maximum before the plea deal came together.
How Police Say It Unfolded
According to the arrest affidavit reported by Action News Jax, the victim and two others were stopped at a light in Murray Hill last February when Collins pulled her vehicle in front of them and a heated exchange followed.
Investigators say Collins had been calling and texting her ex-boyfriend about picking up her belongings after their recent breakup. Witnesses told officers she followed his car before confronting the group at the intersection.
Police found a single .380-caliber shell casing at the scene. Family members later identified the wounded passenger as 42-year-old Latasha Taylor, who suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was rushed to the hospital.
Defendant's Account And Reporting
Law&Crime reports that Collins told investigators she only meant to fire a warning shot and claimed the gun “accidentally discharged.”
The Miami Herald’s coverage of the arrest affidavit adds that Collins was initially booked on an attempted second-degree murder charge and held on a $250,000 bond.
What The Plea Means
By pleading guilty to attempted murder, Collins skipped a trial and left her fate squarely in the judge’s hands, News4JAX notes. Prosecutors had said the charge carried up to 15 years in prison. On Thursday, the judge settled on 12, closing the book on the Murray Hill shooting but leaving lasting damage for everyone involved.
