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Homicide suspect faces extradition By JILL BRISKEY A San Rafael, Calif., man accused of shooting to death Central Point resident Russell Slack in 1999 is now facing extradition proceedings. Daniel Taylor, 55, is lodged in the Marin County Jail in California, awaiting an April 16 trial date. He was arrested March 2 by Central Point police who traveled to California with a Jackson County warrant charging Taylor with murder. An identity hearing was held Friday to determine if Taylor � who uses the alias Ron Early Wesley � was the same man named on the warrant. According to a story in the Marin Independent Journal on Saturday, a judge ruled that Taylor was indeed the same man being sought by Central Point police. Taylor faces an unrelated drug charge stemming from a 1995 arrest for drug and paraphernalia possession. Repeated attempts to contact Marin County Assistant District Attorney Ed Berberian, who is handling the case, were unsuccessful. Taylor is the primary suspect in the Jan, 3, 1999, murder of Slack. Central Point police believe Taylor shot Slack once in the chest inside Slack�s Freeman Road home. Slack died two weeks later at Rogue Valley Medical Center, providing police with a sketchy description of his shooter. Police chief Mike Sweeny said last month he believed the killing may have been drug-related. Central Point Sgt. Tony McPherson and Detective Michael Wojack found Taylor at a Marin County homeless shelter on March 2. They had help from various California law enforcement officials. Investigators spent two years searching for a suspect in the case. A Medford man and former tenant who admitted spray-painting homophobic graffiti on Slack�s home was ruled out after passing a lie-detector test in 1999. A tip from a local woman led to Central Point investigators obtaining a warrant for Taylor. Police looked at a variety of motives behind the murder. They wondered if Slack was killed during a drug deal, or perhaps by a former tenant or as part of a hate crime. Slack�s friend and Medford resident Jeri Moffitt also wondered if his death was a hate crime. "He didn�t hide behind anything or anyone. He was a very honest person and he didn�t care who knew (that he was gay)," Moffitt said. "It really annoyed a lot of people. " Moffitt met Slack more than 20 years ago when the two worked together at the Veterans Affairs Domiciliary in White City. Moffitt was Slack�s supervisor. The two quickly became friends, Moffitt said, adding that as a single mother she could always count on Slack to lend her a hand. She remembers Slack, a Vietnam veteran, as a generous man who was kind to animals. "He was just a kind, gentle person who got hooked on crank," she added. "I don�t think a day goes by that I don�t think about him." Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.