Charleston felon pleads guilty to federal gun charge

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man pleaded guilty today to a federal gun crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Randy Allen Taylor, 34, entered his guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Taylor admitted that on September 4, 2016, he consented to a search by the Charleston Police Department of a hotel room at the Courtyard Marriott on Kanawha Boulevard, East, in Charleston. During the search, officers recovered a Kel-Tec, Model PF-9, 9mm pistol and approximately 3.7 ounces of methamphetamine. Following the search of the hotel room, Taylor consented to a search of a 2005 Lincoln Aviator that he had driven to the hotel. Inside the vehicle, officers recovered a stolen Cobra, Model CA-380, .380 caliber handgun.

Taylor admitted that he possessed both the guns and the drugs recovered in the searches, and that he intended to distribute the drugs. Taylor was prohibited from possessing any firearm under federal law because of a 2011 conviction in the Southern District of West Virginia for possession with intent to distribute oxycodone.

Taylor faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on August 30, 2017.

The Charleston Police Department, the United States Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Matt Davis is in charge of the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.

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