Convicted felon learns sentence for illegally possessing firearm, taking part in murder in Chicago

CHICAGO - A Chicago man has been sentenced to federal prison for illegally possessing a handgun and taking part in the murder of another man on Labor Day weekend in 2022.

Andrei Taylor, 27, pleaded guilty to a federal charge of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Taylor illegally possessed a loaded firearm on the afternoon of Sept. 19, 2022, in the Tri-Taylor neighborhood on the Near West Side.

According to prosecutors, Taylor was a passenger in a Kia Optima that had been stolen in a carjacking earlier that afternoon.

When Chicago police approached the Kia, Taylor and three other occupants fled the vehicle and ran on foot. 

Before being apprehended by police, Taylor threw the gun, which had an extended magazine, into the backyard of a nearby residence.

Taylor was previously convicted of three firearm-related felonies and was not lawfully allowed to possess a gun.

Additionally, Taylor was convicted of participating in the premeditated murder of Kadaivion Jones, who was shot and killed on Sept. 2, 2022, while standing on a sidewalk in West Garfield Park.

The handgun possessed by Taylor in the Kia was determined to be one of the guns used to shoot Jones.

A judge sentenced Taylor to 15 years in prison. The sentence was handed down this week.