October 17, 2023
(McKinney, Texas) –Matthew Cory Taylor, 28, of Plano, Texas, was sentenced by a jury to 30 years in prison for Aggravated Robbery after being found guilty, announced Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis. “This career criminal committed 15 crimes in just 6 years, served time in both federal and state prison, all before breaking into a stranger’s home and holding the victim at gunpoint. The jury’s sentence will keep Collin County citizens safe from him for the extended future,” said Willis after sentencing.
On December 31, 2022, at approximately 4:00 am, Plano Police Department officers responded to an apartment in Plano after the victim called 911 regarding a home-invasion robbery. The victim stated that he was awoken by two individuals coming through his window, pointing a gun at him, demanding he get in his closet, and asking the location of his safe. The victim reported he knew one of the individuals as a female family friend, and the other was an unknown masked man.
Plano Detective Mary Jung conducted an investigation to determine associates of the female involved in the robbery. Social media searches revealed that the known female suspect was in a relationship with Taylor. Less than 24 hours after the robbery, Plano Officers arrested both suspects, and the stolen items were in their possession. A cell phone extraction of Taylor’s phone revealed messages between the two suspects planning the robbery, as well as messages in which Taylor was attempting to sell some of the stolen items.
The jury found Taylor guilty of Aggravated Robbery.
In the punishment phase of trial, prosecutors presented evidence to the jury of Taylor’s extensive criminal history. From 2012 to 2016, Taylor was arrested and convicted for a litany offenses ranging from Robbery, Assault Bodily Injury-Family Violence, & Burglary of a Building to misdemeanor Failure to Identify Fugitive & Criminal Trespass. In 2017, Taylor was indicted in federal court for Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, for attempting to sell methamphetamine with a firearm in Collin County. Taylor was also arrested in 2017 on a separate date for state charges of third degree possession of methamphetamine. In spring 2018, Taylor was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison, with supervised released for 5 more years after that, and 2 years in the state penitentiary, respectively. Taylor was on federal supervised release when he committed this crime. In total, Taylor has been convicted for 15 offenses over the span of 6 years.
After hearing of this criminal history and considering the facts of this home invasion Aggravated Robbery, the jury sentenced Taylor to 30 years in prison. For this crime, Texas law doesn’t allow eligibility for state parole consideration until he has served one-half of the sentence (15 years).
Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Anthony D’Amore and Luke Calhoun prosecuted the case, assisted by District Attorney Investigators Sarah Putman and Jennifer Gomez. Judge Andrea Thompson presided over the case.
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