Matthew Cory Taylor, 28, of Plano, Texas, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for Aggravated Robbery by a jury, as announced by Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis. Taylor's extensive criminal history, which included 15 offenses over the course of six years, played a significant role in the sentencing.
The incident in question occurred on December 31, 2022, at around 4:00 am when Plano Police Department officers responded to a home-invasion robbery at an apartment in Plano. The victim, who reported the crime to 911, stated that he was awakened by two individuals breaking into his home through a window. The intruders, one of whom he recognized as a female family friend, brandished a firearm and ordered him into a closet while demanding the location of his safe.
Plano Detective Mary Jung led the investigation, which revealed that the female suspect was in a relationship with Taylor. Less than 24 hours after the robbery, both suspects were arrested, and stolen items were found in their possession. A cell phone extraction from Taylor's device exposed messages between the suspects plotting the robbery, as well as messages indicating Taylor's attempts to sell some of the stolen items.
Following a trial where Taylor was found guilty of Aggravated Robbery, the prosecution presented evidence in the punishment phase regarding his extensive criminal record. Taylor had been involved in various criminal activities from 2012 to 2016, including offenses such as Robbery, Assault Bodily Injury-Family Violence, and Burglary of a Building, alongside misdemeanor charges like Failure to Identify Fugitive and Criminal Trespass. In 2017, he was indicted in federal court for Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, related to an attempt to sell methamphetamine while in possession of a firearm in Collin County. He also faced state charges of third-degree possession of methamphetamine in 2017. Taylor was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison and 2 years in the state penitentiary, with additional supervised release.
Furthermore, at the time of committing this crime, Taylor was on federal supervised release. Due to the severity of his criminal history and the nature of the home invasion Aggravated Robbery, the jury sentenced Taylor to 30 years in prison. Under Texas law, he won't be eligible for state parole consideration until he has served half of his sentence, equivalent to 15 years.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Anthony D'Amore and Luke Calhoun, with the assistance of District Attorney Investigators Sarah Putman and Jennifer Gomez. Judge Andrea Thompson presided over the case.
