A five-time convicted felon faces new gun and narcotics charges after Chicago police allegedly observed a firearm and a duffel bag containing a significant quantity of drugs in his parked car in North Center.
Three years ago, Taylor was arrested after allegedly being found naked in a stranger’s Lakeview apartment with a gun and drugs in a backpack. While he received a four-year sentence for that incident, he completed parole on March 3, less than three years after being arrested.
Now, prosecutors have filed nearly identical charges based on new allegations.
On April 10, around 4:40 p.m., Chicago police saw Taylor conducting a hand-to-hand transaction in the 4000 block of North Lincoln Avenue, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Paul Sloan. The cops saw him leave the scene in a BMW registered to his home address but displaying a West Virginia temporary tag.
About a week later, officers saw Taylor drive the same BMW to the same location on Lincoln Avenue and abandon it, Sloan said. Curious officers looked through the vehicle’s windows and allegedly spotted a silver pistol on the back seat next to a duffel bag. They obtained a search warrant, impounded the car, and executed the warrant.
Inside the duffel bag, police found another loaded firearm, Taylor’s wallet and ID, 44 grams of methamphetamine, nearly eight grams of heroin, 10 doses of MDMA, and over 1½ gallons of GHB, a tranquilizer commonly used as a party drug and known as a “date rape” drug, Sloan stated.
Taylor later reclaimed his BMW from the city, but on May 15, police saw him driving it again and took him into custody.
During a recent detention hearing, Taylor’s defense attorney, Audrey Park, told Judge John Hock that Taylor works in construction and lives with his wife and two children. Park stated that Taylor denies all allegations and is “working to turn his life around.” While Taylor has a large crown—a symbol associated with the Latin King street gang—tattooed on his forehead, Park said he denies being part of the organization.
Hock granted the state’s detention petition, ordering Taylor to remain in jail while awaiting trial.
The 2022 case resulted in prison time for methamphetamine delivery and gun possession. His previous felony convictions include retail theft in 2019, being a felon with a firearm in 2015, illegal gun possession in 2015, and forgery in 2019, according to Sloan, who added Taylor also has 10 misdemeanor convictions.
Sourcing: This report is based on the official court transcript of the defendant’s detention hearing.
