United States of America v. Andrei Taylor

Chicago, Illinois criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with felony possession of a firearm.

Taylor was a member of the Cali Boys, a gang that promoted their ability to kill their “opps” (opponents). Kadaivion Jones was a member of the Gangster Disciples, a
rival gang of the Cali Boys.

On September 2, Kevon Bonner, a fellow Cali Boy, picked up a stolen white Dodge Durango SUV from a repair shop.

From about 6:02 p.m. to 6:23 p.m., cell phones associated with Taylor, Bonner, and Quincy Phillips—a third Cali Boy— “pinged,” that is, sent to or received signals from a nearby cell tower. Although such communications do not reveal the exact location of the phone or who held it, the three phones all pinged the same tower for about 20 minutes.

At 6:24 p.m., video captured the same Dodge Durango and a Chrysler 300 sedan traveling in tandem in a direction away from the cell tower. At 6:29 p.m., Taylor’s and Bonner’s phones both pinged a tower located about 500 meters from where
ones was killed. Just after those communications stopped, video recorded the cars approaching Jones while he walked down a sidewalk. The two cars pulled up to Jones. At least one person shot a gun from the passenger side of the Chrysler,
and at least two people exited the Dodge and fired shots at Jones. The shots continued to strike Jones as he tried to get up from the ground and escape. Police later recovered some 9mm shell casings from the scene. Jones died en route to the
hospital from multiple gunshot wounds.

Minutes after the shooting, Taylor went online to post about it and look for related news. Around 6:41 p.m., Taylor posted a Facebook status, stating “Ooowwww.” Then he searched Facebook for “Kadaivion Jones.” Later that night, Taylor posted, “I'm so happy I ain’t got no opp cousins ‘cause I be all over they ass.” He also searched for Facebook accounts that post news of murders and other crimes in Chicago. This
was not the first time Taylor searched Facebook for Jones and a shooting. A week before, shots were fired at Jones and his girlfriend, and Taylor searched Facebook for “Kadaivion Jones.”

A few hours after Jones’s murder, Bonner was arrested while driving the same Chrysler from the videos. DNA, fingerprints, and a paper trail tied Bonner to evidence recovered from the Chrysler and the Dodge. Hours later, Taylor sent
several messages in a group chat, urging people to start a new group chat because the police now had Bonner’s phone.

The Defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.