Antonio M. Taylor, Drug Trafficking, Missouri 2012

Kansas City, MO – A Kansas City man has been convicted of drug trafficking and illegal firearms possession after shooting at pursuing police officers during a foot chase that ended in his arrest.

Antonio M. Taylor, 30, of Kansas City, was found guilty of all charges contained in an Aug. 8, 2012, federal indictment.

Taylor was found guilty of two counts of possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing crack cocaine, marijuana and PCP with the intent to distribute. He was found guilty of three counts of possessing firearms in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes and three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to evidence presented during the trial, law enforcement officers were conducting surveillance on Taylor’s residence on July 2, 2012. Taylor, who had an active Jackson County warrant for a violation of felony probation, left the apartment and walked toward a vehicle in the parking lot. When police officers approached him, Taylor ran away and the officers pursued him on foot.

During the pursuit, Taylor changed directions and began running toward a pursuing officer. Taylor was holding an FNH 9mm semi-automatic handgun and he fired at least one round at the officer, who returned fire. The officer saw Taylor drop a large bag of crack cocaine (later determined to be 32.9 grams) as he ran. The officer took cover near a residence but continued to engage in the foot pursuit.

Taylor, who has a prior felony conviction for shooting from a vehicle, four prior convictions for assault and five prior convictions for armed criminal action, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 60 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole.

Taylor is currently being held in the Western District of Missouri until sentencing, which has not been scheduled yet.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, Tammy Dickinson.

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