Crime

Man arrested, charged with murder in Versailles Road homicide that killed local activist

Police car lights in night time, crime scene, night patrolling the city. Abstract blurry image. Photo by Getty Images This is a stock image downloaded from Getty Images. It is a Royalty Free image.
Police car lights in night time, crime scene, night patrolling the city. Abstract blurry image. Photo by Getty Images This is a stock image downloaded from Getty Images. It is a Royalty Free image. Getty Images/iStockphoto

A man has been arrested and charged with murder in the Dec. 1 homicide that killed Lexington activist Quaynell King.

Tiquan Anderson, 20, was arrested Wednesday and charged with murder, first-degree wanton endangerment and first-degree criminal mischief, Lexington Police said. He is being held at the Fayette County Detention Center.

King, 44, died after being shot on Versailles Road on Dec. 1, in Lexington’s second homicide of that weekend. The Lexington Police Department was called to the 1800 block of Versailles Road regarding shots fired at about 8:44 p.m. that night, police said in a news release.

Soon after, King showed up at a local hospital suffering from a gunshot wound, and he was later pronounced dead, the Fayette County coroner’s office said.

Friends said King would do anything to help his neighbors, at times literally giving away the shoes on his feet, Trevor Claiborn told the Herald-Leader. King will be remembered as “a Lexington legend,” he said.

Read Next

Leandra Forman, an executive director at the nonprofit FoodChain, which provides free fresh food to those in need in Lexington, worked with King on many service projects in the Smithtown and Coolavin area. King was “a continuous fighter for justice and opportunities for his neighborhood,” she said.

“He was so passionate about his community and being a representative and a voice for justice and advocacy in that community,” Forman said. “He was a really, really hard worker. He didn’t just talk about getting things done. If he wanted something done, he was the one there making it happen and putting in the work.”

Monica Kast
Lexington Herald-Leader
Monica Kast covers higher education for the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com. Previously, she covered higher education in Tennessee for the Knoxville News Sentinel. She is originally from Louisville, Kentucky, and is a graduate of Western Kentucky University. Support my work with a digital subscription
Get one year of unlimited digital access for $159.99
#ReadLocal

Only 44¢ per day

SUBSCRIBE NOW