WASHINGTON – Jonathan Taylor, 26, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 40 years in prison for his role in a shooting that killed one man and wounded another in Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Taylor was found guilty by a jury in June 2017 of first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, and two related firearms offenses. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable José M. Lόpez. Following his prison term, Taylor will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Aug. 13, 2014, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Taylor and three unidentified associates drove together in a gold Honda Accord, looking to kill their target, 25-year-old Dexter Motley. They found Mr. Motley standing on a corner near the unit block of 46^th Place NE, talking casually to his friends and their neighbors. Taylor and his associates then drove around the block and approached Mr. Motley on foot. One of the four men—the triggerman—walked by Mr. Motley, as if walking leisurely down the sidewalk.  The triggerman then pulled out a revolver and fired five shots at close range, including a fatal shot into Mr. Motley’s forehead. Another shot hit one of Mr. Motley’s friends. The friend was able to flee into an alley and survived the attack. The defendants fled. Taylor later was linked to the crime through information tying him to the Honda Accord and other evidence. 

            In a separate case, Taylor is awaiting trial on second-degree murder while armed and other charges in the July 4, 2015 slaying of Dwayne Dillard. Mr. Dillard, 23, was fatally shot at about 11 p.m. in the 2600 block of Douglass Place SE. Taylor has pled not guilty.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Park Police. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Bradford, Magdalena Acevedo, Christian Natiello, and Michael Spence; Paralegal Specialists Lashone Samuels and Debra Joyner; Victim/Witness Services Coordinators M. Laverne Perry and Tanya Via; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcey Rinker; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Litigation Technology Specialist Jeanie Latimore-Brown, and Intern Reed Stadler.

            Finally, U.S. Attorney Phillips and Chief Newsham commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas N. Saunders and Jin Park, who prosecuted the case.