Mullins traffic stop lands armed felon in prison

By Star & Enterprise Staff Reports

Published: September 23, 2008

U.S. Attorney W. Walter Wilkins said Tuesday that Robert Demon Taylor, 28, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by U.S. District Judge R. Bryan Harwell for being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and possessing said firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Last May, deputies stopped Taylor in Mullins for speeding and found he was driving with a suspended license, a press release about the sentencing said. Police seized 22 grams of crack, a loaded revolver, and $8,500 in cash from the trunk of Taylor’s vehicle. Taylor admitted that the gun, drugs and money belonged to him.

The case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant U.S. Attorney Rose Mary Parham of the Florence office prosecuted the case as part of Project CeaseFire, an initiative of the United States Attorneys Office that seeks to aggressively prosecute gun-related crimes.