HOUSTON — A federal judge recently sentenced a Houston robber he said was "entrusted to help the most vulnerable people in the community" to 16 years in prison Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Xavier McCoy-Taylor, 30, pleaded guilty to federal charges of robbery and using a firearm during a violent crime.
U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks handed McCoy-Taylor a 34-month sentence for the 2020 robbery. He tacked on another 84 months for two firearms charges, which must be served consecutively.
During the robbery of a CVS on Beechnut in September 2020, McCoy-Taylor held a pregnant clerk at gunpoint and pointed his gun at a state trooper who tried to stop him.
U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani said McCoy-Taylor was working as a patient care assistant at Memorial Hermann Hospital when he committed the robberies. The Westlake Fire Department told KHOU 11 he used to be a volunteer firefighter with them, but was voted out of the department for not showing up.
“Instead of serving the public, he decided to endanger it, pointing a gun at a pregnant store clerk and then pointing it at a Texas State Trooper. As a result, he will spend the next years taking care of his jail cell instead of his patients," Hamdani said.
The judge called McCoy-Taylor is a "wolf in sheep's clothing" who shouldn't be able to walk the streets of Houston for a very long time.
Also in September 2020, before the CVS robbery, McCoy-Taylor also brandished a firearm while robbing a gas station attendant at a Murphy USA gas station in Katy.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Texas Department of Public Safety; Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office and police departments in Katy and Houston conducted the investigation.
ATF officials provided more information on McCoy-Taylor.
"Right now, it is still unclear if he used different firearms for each robbery. At the time of his arrest, he had one firearm and a search of his vehicle revealed a second one. Both were pistols," ATF PIO Melissa Garcia said.
Authorities said it's possible that he had a getaway driver during two of the robberies but, at the time of his arrest, McCoy-Taylor told them he acted alone.
Memorial Hermann issued this statement:
"This individual was briefly employed until fall 2020. We were not aware of these federal charges until news of the sentencing hearing became public today. Prior to his hiring, this individual passed the background check that is mandatory for all employees as part of the onboarding process. Protecting the health, safety and well-being of our patients and visitors is our top priority and a responsibility that we take very seriously."