Durham Man Who Fled from Law Enforcement Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

GREENSBORO - A Durham man who pleaded guilty to a firearm charge has been sentenced, announced Sandra J. Hairston, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina.

MARIO DEANDRE TAYLOR, age 44, was sentenced yesterday, November 12, 2024, to 144 months of imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release. Sentencing was held in Greensboro, North Carolina, before United States District Judge William L. Osteen, Jr.

TAYLOR pleaded guilty in August to one count of felon in possession of a firearm, a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun.

According to court documents, on October 5, 2023, members of the Durham County Sheriff's Office patrol division attempted to apprehend TAYLOR, who had outstanding state warrants for armed robberies, felony larcenies, assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, and robbery with a dangerous weapon, among other alleged crimes that took place between July 28, 2023, and October 5, 2023. Around 11:00 p.m. that night, TAYLOR, who had already eluded capture twice that day, led deputies on a high-speed chase through residential and business areas in Durham, driving at high rates of speed, running through stop signs and stop lights, side-swiping a truck, and nearly hitting a city bus. Eventually, TAYLOR slowed down on South Buchanan Boulevard in a residential neighborhood, jumped out of the vehicle with a loaded weapon in his possession, and ran. After a short foot chase, TAYLOR was arrested but did not have a gun on his person. Approximately fifteen to twenty feet from the location of TAYLOR's arrest, a K-9 found the loaded .40 caliber handgun that TAYLOR had thrown during the pursuit.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Raleigh-Durham Safe Streets Task Force (SSTF) and the Durham County Sheriff's Office. The lead investigator was an FBI Task Force Officer from the Durham County Sheriff's Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Jeanne Dildine.

Since 1992, the FBI's Safe Streets Violent Crime Initiative has successfully aligned FBI Agents, state and local law enforcement investigators, and federal and state prosecutors onto SSTFs to reduce violent crime. This nationwide initiative brings resources together in a "force multiplier concept" and utilizes the expertise of each agency. SSTFs focus primarily upon street gang and drug-related violence through sustained, proactive, coordinated investigations to obtain prosecutions on violations such as racketeering, drug conspiracy, and firearms violations.

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