Four-Time Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges for Unlawfully Possessing Firearm and Distribution Quantity of PCP

            WASHINGTON – Timothy Eugene Taylor, 36, a four-time convicted felon from Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to federal charges stemming from his possession of a loaded firearm and a distributable quantity of liquid phencyclidine, commonly known as PCP, in August 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves; ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Samuel Ward of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Division (ATF); and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Taylor pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year and one count of unlawful possession with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of phencyclidine.  The Honorable Randolph D. Moss scheduled a sentencing hearing for April 2, 2025.

            According to court papers, on August 11, 2023, officers with MPD’s Seventh District Crime Suppression Team were patrolling the 300 block of Livingston Terrace Southeast in a marked police cruiser. Officers observed that Taylor was wearing a crossbody satchel with a distinct “L-shaped” bulge protruding from the bag. Based on this observation, officers believed Taylor was carrying a firearm and attempted to speak with him from their vehicle. Taylor moved the bag to the opposite side of his body—out of view—and was turning his body away from the police. As officers exited the vehicle to get a better look at the bag, Taylor fled on foot into a nearby apartment building in which he did not reside.

            Officers pursued Taylor into the building, where they stopped him. An officer frisked Taylor’s satchel and immediately felt a hard object that he recognized to be a firearm. Officers opened the satchel and recovered a loaded Smith and Wesson M&P 9 2.0 9-millimeter, semiautomatic handgun. The firearm was loaded with one chambered round of 9mm ammunition and an additional 21 rounds of 9mm ammunition in its extended magazine. Officers also recovered three vials of liquid phencyclidine, commonly known as PCP, from the bag. The quantity of PCP recovered was indicative of distribution rather than personal use.

            Following his arrest, Taylor agreed to participate in an interview with an MPD detective.  In the interview, Taylor admitted that the firearm belonged to him and that he was engaged in the distribution of PCP.

            Federal law prohibits Taylor from possessing a firearm because he has previously been convicted of crimes punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. Taylor has been convicted of four such offenses in the District of Columbia since 2007, including a 2020 conviction for the same federal firearms charge to which he pleaded guilty today.

            Taylor was arrested on October 27, 2023, and has remained held without bond since his arrest.

            The charges carry a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison and up to a $1,250,000 fine.  The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence imposed in this case will be determined by the Court after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            At the time of the offense Taylor was serving a term of supervised release for his 2020 federal firearms conviction. Upon his conviction in this case, Taylor faces revocation of supervised release and up to 24 additional months in prison.

            The case was investigated by ATF and MPD as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul V. Courtney. Valuable assistance was provided by former Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine A. Pattison and Katherine M. Toth, who indicted the case and litigated pretrial motions.

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