D.C. Man Pleads Guilty in Mother's Shooting Death

A Southeast Washington man who police say was high on PCP when he walked into his mother's bedroom and shot her in March pleaded guilty to murder in D.C. Superior Court on Thursday.

Damon D. Taylor, 25, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon in the March 5 shooting death of his mother, Margaret Ann Taylor, 54. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Snyder said Taylor shot his mother multiple times with a .22-caliber handgun in her upper torso as she was lying in her bed.

According to court records, after shooting his mother and chasing his aunt out of the apartment in the 4200 block of Ninth Street SE, Taylor was stopped by police blocks away after residents reported seeing a man walking the streets with a handgun. Taylor allegedly told police that he "did something stupid. I just shot my mother."

During the hearing, Judge Herbert B. Dixon Jr. took several breaks to allow Taylor to confer with his attorney to ensure that Taylor understood the charges and his plea.

Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 7.