Violent Felon and Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Firearms Charges

NORFOLK, Va. – A man previously convicted of numerous violent felonies and who is a registered sex offender pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

According to court documents, Edward Jamaal Taylor, 38, of Suffolk, was arrested based on evidence that he had allegedly assaulted and kidnapped at gunpoint a witness in a federal drug-trafficking case. Police officers then searched Taylor’s car and recovered a handgun equipped with a laser sight and loaded with a large-capacity magazine, which matched the victim’s description of the firearm used in the abduction. The officers also recovered eight ounces of marijuana and a double-bladed knife from the car. After his arrest, Taylor admitted to owning the gun, possessing the drugs with intent to distribute them, and “possibly hitting” the victim while “recklessly waiving his gun around” during an argument, after which he “assisted” the victim to two different locations. 

Taylor has seven convictions for violent felonies, including two for robbery, two for possessing a firearm in connection with a felony offense, two for abduction, and one for rape.

Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16, 2021. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of life in prison. 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.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Al Chandler, Interim Chief of Suffolk Police; and Jesse R. Fong, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys William B. Jackson and William D. Muhr are 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. 2:20-cr-93.