WISE, Va. – A judge sentenced Andrew Jackson Taylor Jr. to six months home confinement on Friday, saying the former deputy sheriff and town councilman had likely beaten himself up more than anybody for his role in an Appalachia, Va., illegal gambling operation.
Taylor is the last of nearly a dozen Appalachia residents to face a judge following a March 2006 raid on three illegal gambling houses that operated in on Main Street in the small Wise County town.
He received five-year prison terms – all suspended – on racketeering and money laundering charges and a suspended 12-month jail sentence for operating an illegal gambling house.
On Monday, Taylor will begin serving six months on home electronic monitoring on a misdemeanor charge of owning a gambling establishment. He agreed to pay $15,000 in restitution to the regional drug task force.
Taylor’s heart problems and related health issues prompted his attorney Greg Gilbert to ask the judge to allow home confinement rather than a jail term.
Gilbert presented a letter to the judge from Gary Bush, a former Appalachia mayor, touting Taylor’s character and service.
The judge asked Special Prosecutor David Childers his stance on Gilbert’s request. Childers said the prosecution would not take a position on the issue.
"That makes it a little bit more palatable to me," Circuit Court Judge Joseph Carico said.
The judge also took Taylor’s past into consideration.
"I know you," the judge told Taylor. "I’m not going to act like I don’t know who you are because I do."
Carico was commonwealth’s attorney in Wise County prior to becoming a judge.
"I worked with you," Carico said. "As far as I know, you were a good deputy with an excellent record. I know you have probably beaten yourself up more than anybody over this stuff."
Childers said after the hearing Friday that Taylor’s sentence was part of a plea agreement, and it was on par with sentences received by most of the others who entered pleas in the gambling cases.
Hubert Summers, 59, was the only person nabbed in the gambling house raid to chose a bench trial on the money laundering and racketeering charges. He was found guilty last year and sentenced to two years in prison.
Taylor’s experience in law enforcement and court proceedings was evident on Friday when he gave a succinct reply when the judge asked how he pleaded to the gambling-related charges.
"I plea under the Alford plea, your honor," the former deputy said referring to the Alford Rule, a legal term for cases in which a person does not admit guilt but agrees prosecutors have enough evidence for a jury to convict.
Taylor offered no comments on behalf of himself prior to sentencing, but the court heard comments from others regarding Taylor’s character and his service to Appalachia over the years.
Bobby Dorton, a former Appalachia town manager, called Taylor one of the best councilmen he has worked with over the years.
"He always made good decisions," Dorton testified. "He’s always been honest."
Childers, the special prosecutor, said he’s glad the gambling prosecutions are at an end.
"We’ve been doing this for a year and a half," Childers said. "It’s nice to get things wrapped up."
kstill@bristolnews.com | (276) 679-1338
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