Man charged in killing had frequented the store
WHITSETT — The man police have charged with killing store owner Bobby Lee Taylor is a family acquaintance who frequented the store for years, Taylor’s wife said Monday.
Shirley Taylor, working Monday at the store just off N.C. 61, said she had known Christopher Shane Knight, 31, of Burlington, and his mother for years.
“He used to come up here all the time with his mother when he was younger, but then I hadn’t seen him in a couple of years,” Taylor said. “Somebody told me that he came up here at night and played the pool tables and stuff in the last year or so.”
Knight of 2328 Pinecroft Road in Burlington is being held without bond in the Alamance County jail charged with first-degree murder, robbery with a firearm and felony drug charges.
Knight was charged in connection with the Dec. 6 slaying of 69-year-old Bobby Taylor, who was found shot to death inside Taylor’s Service and Grocery. The store’s cash register was taken. Bobby Taylor, a former Greensboro firefighter, had run the store on N.C. 61 for 21 years.
Alamance Deputy Scott Gaither stopped Knight for a minor traffic violation Saturday and saw a glass tube like those used to smoke crack cocaine in his car, said Randy Jones, spokesman for the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office.
Gaither then searched further and found the cash register from Taylor’s store in Knight’s vehicle, Jones said.
Guilford County Sheriff’s Major Tom Sheppard praised the Alamance deputy’s work.
“The deputy stopped him for a minor traffic violation and got this guy we’ve never heard of and wasn’t even on our radar screen,” Sheppard said.
Shirley Taylor said she feels sad for Knight’s family.
“It’s sad for us that Bobby’s gone and he’s not going to come back to us. But it’s sad because it’s another family now that’s got family that’s gone, too.”
Authorities say the case remains under investigation, and ask anyone with information to contact the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office 641-3355 or Crime Stoppers at 373-1000.
Contact Sonja Elmquist at 373-7090 or sonja.elmquist@news-record.com
Accompanying Photos
Photo Caption: Christopher Shane Knight (left) and Bobby Lee Taylor
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