38-year-old man clinging to life after Atwater area shooting

A 38-year-old man is in critical condition after being shot Monday morning near Atwater.

Detectives say the shooting apparently happened during an argument between two men who had previously been involved in a romantic relationship. The shooting was reported at 11:44 a.m. outside a residence in the 5100 block of Noah Drive.

A neighbor said he called law enforcement after hearing several shots and found the victim, identified as Stephen Ray Taylor, collapsed near a gate, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Merced County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene and the victim was flown to a Modesto hospital.

Not long after the shooting, deputies detained Versall Henderson, 35, as a person of interest in the case. Deputies later identified Henderson as the suspect. He was taken into custody about a mile away from the crime.

According to Detective Sgt. Chuck Hale, Henderson was known to law enforcement prior to Monday’s shooting. Deputies had investigated a previous case in which Henderson had made allegations against Taylor, claiming he was in possession of child pornography, which later proved to be unfounded.

During the course of that investigation, detectives learned Henderson and Taylor had been involved in a relationship. After Taylor broke off the relationship, Henderson made the false child pornography allegations.

Detectives determined that Henderson fabricated the allegations as payback for the breakup. “(The) allegations against the victim were unfounded (and) were based on what was believed to be a scorned lover,” Hale said.

Taylor, who is former associate pastor at a local church, is married and has five children, according the sheriff’s detectives. He had apparently been trying to fix the relationship he had with his wife, according to Hale.

Prior to the shooting, detectives believe Henderson and the victim had been arguing in front of the Atwater residence. According to Hale, during the confrontation Henderson pulled out a small-caliber handgun and shot Taylor multiple times.

Neither the victim nor Henderson lives at the Atwater address, according to Hale, and it’s unknown why they were there.

A witness, who lives nearby and asked not to be identified because of the violent nature of the incident, told the Merced Sun-Star he heard three shots Monday morning. At first he thought nothing of the noise, he said, because he “hears things like that all the time.”

Another neighbor then called the witness, alerting the man that she had seen a suspicious person. “She said ‘I don’t want to alarm you, but I heard shots, and I looked out the window and I saw a guy walking down your driveway carrying a duffle bag,’ ” the witness said.

He then went outside and found the victim on the ground, moaning. “I called 911. I have no idea who it is,” the witness said.

This story was originally published October 20, 2014 at 1:55 PM with the headline "38-year-old man clinging to life after Atwater area shooting."