NORFOLK, Va. — A man who was previously convicted of several violent crimes, also a registered sex offender pleaded guilty on Friday in a drug-trafficking crime.
Police said 38-year-old Edward Jamaal Taylor of Suffolk was arrested for assaulting and kidnapping a person at gunpoint. The victim was a witness in a federal drug-trafficking case, they said.
Officers searched Taylor’s car and found a handgun with a laser sight and loaded with a large-capacity magazine. This matched the victim's description of the firearm used in the abduction.
Additionally, police said they found eight ounces of marijuana and a double-bladed knife in the car.
Taylor admitted to owning the gun and the drugs with intentions of distributing them. He also confirmed that he might of hit the victim while "recklessly waving his gun around" while they were arguing. This was after he "assisted" the victim to two separate locations, police said.
Currently, Taylor has seven convictions for violent felonies which include two for robbery, two for possession of a firearm in connection with a felony offense, two for abduction and one for rape.
Taylor is scheduled for his sentencing on April 16, 2021, facing a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
