Previously Convicted Killer Sentenced in Taking a Loaded Revolver into a DC Government Building

WASHINGTON – Dwayne Taylor, 49,  a convicted murderer residing in the District, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to one year and one day in prison in connection with his illegal possession of a loaded revolver he carried into a government building that had been designated as a gun-free zone, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Taylor pleaded guilty on Sept. 2, 2025, before Judge Jia M. Cobb to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon. In addition to the prison term, Judge Cobb ordered Taylor to serve three years of supervised release.

Joining U.S. Attorney Pirro in the announcement were Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Washington Field Office, and Interim Chief Jeffrey Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

According to court documents, on June 30, 2025, shortly after 9 a.m. an MPD officer responded to the Minnesota-Benning Government Center on the 4000 block of Minnesota Avenue NE. The officer approached a security official who pointed to Taylor and identified him as a man who had a gun in his bag.

The officer asked Taylor, “What’s going on?” Taylor replied, “My weapon in my backpack.” The officer asked Taylor if he had a permit, Taylor stated, “No it’s at home, I don’t got none of my stuff with me . . . I forgot when I was rushing out the door this morning. I forgot. I just put it in my bag and ran out the door.”  The officer asked Taylor if he was licensed to carry. Taylor responded, “No, I’m not licensed to carry.” The officer then placed Taylor in handcuffs and called for more officers.

Officers recovered a Hopkins & Allen 36 .38 Special Revolver loaded with five rounds of ammunition from Taylor’s backpack.

As a previously convicted felon, Taylor was prohibited from possessing a firearm. In 1995, Taylor was convicted in D.C. Superior Court of second degree murder while armed; armed robbery; and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence in the 1994 execution-style killing of cab driver Keith Moore. Taylor was sentenced to 15-years-to-life in prison and served 27 years.

This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the ATF Washington Field Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Liss for the District of Columbia.

An X-ray image of Taylor’s backpack as it passed through the X-Ray machine at the Minnesota-Benning Government Center. The revolver is circled in yellow.

In this photo, an officer pulls a revolver from Taylor’s backpack.