Charleston husband and wife admit illegal firearm possession

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Carl Taylor, 64, and Patsy Taylor, 52, of Charleston pleaded guilty today to unlawful possession of a firearm.  On January 4, 2013, Carl Taylor received a package of 100 oxycodone pills.  Just weeks earlier Carl and Patsy Taylor had received a package of 90 oxycodone pills.  During a search of the Taylor residence, a loaded .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun was discovered. The Taylors admitted that at the time they jointly possessed the firearm, they were unlawful and habitual users of oxycodone.

The Taylors face up to 10 years in federal prison when they are sentenced on July 9, 2015.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team. Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn is in charge of the prosecution.

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. This case is also being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.