Jury Convicts Men of Hijacking 18-Wheeler Commercial Truck at Gunpoint

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted two New York City men last week on charges of carjacking, armed robbery and possession of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on April 1, at 3:05 a.m., Stephen Pierre Paul, 30, Wayne Ricardo Taylor, 26, and co-conspirators traveled to a truck stop in Mount Jackson in a van with blacked out windows. Once at the truck stop, Pierre-Paul, Taylor, and the co-conspirators hijacked an 18-wheel commercial tractor-trailer with Alabama tags. The group abducted the truck driver at gunpoint and forced him into their van. Both vehicles, the van and hijacked commercial truck, were stopped at a roadblock on eastbound Interstate 66 at 5:15 a.m. in Fairfax County. The victim truck driver was rescued, and the defendants were arrested.

Co-defendants Cornelius Crossman, 37, and Odane Butler, 27, both of Brooklyn, New York, will be sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy on December 10 and January 21, 2022, respectively.

Pierre-Paul and Taylor each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years and maximum of life in prison when sentenced on March 11, 2022. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police; Charlie J. Patterson, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division; Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of Virginia State Police; and Stacey A. Kincaid, Fairfax County Sheriff, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge T. S. Ellis, III accepted the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Walutes, Jr. is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-144.