NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

MATT J. WHITWORTH

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

APRIL 7, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KC MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CARJACKING,

ILLEGAL FIREARM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Matt J. Whitworth, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to carjacking and illegally possessing a firearm.

Brannon D. Taylor, 28, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah W. Hays this morning to the charges contained in a July 15, 2008, federal indictment.

By pleading guilty today, Taylor admitted that he stole a 1994 Ford Explorer from its owner on July 7, 2008. Taylor slid into the victim’s car as he was purchasing gas, displayed a weapon, and drove away with the victim in the car. The victim jumped out of the vehicle and contacted law enforcement officers, who apprehended Taylor after a short car chase and the deployment of a stop stick. Taylor also admitted that he used a firearm to commit that crime of violence.

Under federal statutes, Taylor is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison without parole, up to life in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Barnes. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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