Duo plead guilty to ’23 murder of Canton man

Two Canton men have pleaded guilty to the December 2023 murder of another man found in a ditch.

The men, Calvin Prisley, 50, and Calvin Jones, 49, both pleaded guilty to the murder of Levor Taylor, 24,  according to District Attorney Bubba Bramlett, Jr.

Bramlett said Prisley pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to serve 25 years without the possibility of parole while Jones pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder and was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison.

“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family in this matter. We hope that the two guilty pleas in this matter will give the family some type of closure,” Bramlett said.

On Dec. 24 of last year officers with the Canton Police Department responded to a call reporting a black male in a ditch. 

Upon their arrival, witnesses told them two black males got out of a Ford Fusion and moved a body from the trunk into a ditch on the side of the road. 

“Our residents are able to see and hear so much more than the police, and because of that, they are an essential tool to combating violent crime,” Bramlett said. “We need more civilians looking out for each other and their community and cooperating with law enforcement to see real change in our higher crime areas throughout the district.”

Officers soon identified the deceased as Taylor and went to speak with his roommate, Calvin Jones. 

According to Bramlett, Jones stated that Prisley and Taylor had gotten into a physical altercation on Dec.r 23, and Prisley had shot Taylor. He said Jones also admitted to helping hide Taylor’s body the next day in a nearby ditch.