Man charged with murder in shooting at Richmond Road strip club

A bar fight might have led to Lexington’s fifth homicide of the year, according to police.

Clarence William Taylor, 24, was arrested Wednesday morning on murder in the shooting death of Laroz L. Mitchell.

Mitchell, 23, died of multiple gunshots at University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital after a fight early Friday at Camelot East, a strip club at 2606 Richmond Road, according to Taylor’s arrest citation.

Multiple witnesses told police they saw Mitchell and Taylor, known as “Pooty,” fight at the bar, according to court records. The fight moved outside, where a witness saw Taylor shoot Mitchell, police said.

Taylor pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday. District Court Judge Julie Muth Goodman didn’t set bond after reviewing documents relating to Taylor’s case.

“It says he is homeless,” Goodman said of the documents. “Let’s leave it at that.”

Taylor is scheduled to appear in court again in March.

Taylor has spent time in jail before. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to stealing an Xbox game console, games and $1,645 in cash from a Lexington home, according to court records. As part of his plea agreement, Taylor was placed on two years’ probation with conditions, including not owning a firearm.

From July 2011 to December 2013, Taylor had five probation revocation hearings and three charges of parole violation for the misdemeanor, according to court records.

After one violation, Taylor appealed for shock probation in a July 2012 letter from jail to Fayette Circuit Judge Ernesto Scorsone.

“During this incarceration experience, I have truly seen what life behind bars is like and have had ample time to think through the poor decision-making that has landed me here,” Taylor wrote. “I am hereby asking that if you would grant unto me shock probation so that I may have another chance with life among society.”

Taylor was granted shock probation and was released in August 2012. But the probation was revoked that November, and Taylor served the rest of a one-year sentence, according to court records.

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 7:54 AM with the headline "Man charged with murder in shooting at Richmond Road strip club."