A 38-year-old Mt. Vernon man has been found guilty by a Jefferson County Jury for home invasion, armed robbery, and armed violence.
Melvin Taylor was arrested on the charges in November of last year. He was one of two men who went to a residence in the 1500 block of Jones Street and battered two female occupants with a bat. Both were taken to the hospital for treatment, with one reportedly being left blind in one eye. Mt. Vernon Police say property was taken from one of the victims.
Taylor will be sentenced following a pre-sentence investigation on January 19th. He faces 12 to 60 years on the home invasion and armed robbery charges where the sentences are required to be consecutive to each other with at least 85-percent of the time having to be served.
The co-defendant in the case, 48-year-old Dontae Harris of Mt. Vernon earlier entered an open plea to home invasion and was sentenced to 28 years in prison. Other charges pending against him were dropped as part of the plea.
Harris reportedly struck the two women, with Taylor charged under the accountability theory.
Assistant State’s Attorney Julie Kozuszek prosecuted both of the cases.
