Virginia
Mother of 6-year-old boy who shot Virginia teacher gets 21 months for using marijuana while owning a gun
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher in Virginia was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in prison for using marijuana while owning a firearm, which is illegal under U.S. law.
Deja Taylor’s son took her handgun to school and shot Abby Zwerner in her first-grade classroom in January, seriously wounding the educator.
Investigators later found nearly an ounce of marijuana in Taylor’s bedroom and evidence of frequent drug use in her text messages and paraphernalia.
Taylor’s sentencing in a U.S. District Court offered the first measure of accountability for January’s shooting, which revived a national dialogue about gun violence and roiled the military shipbuilding city of Newport News.
Taylor, 26, still faces a separate sentencing in December on the state level for felony child neglect. And Zwerner is suing the school system for $40 million, alleging that administrators ignored multiple warnings the boy had a gun.
The federal case against Taylor comes at a time when marijuana is legal in many states, including Virginia, while many Americans own firearms.
Some U.S. courts in other parts of the country have ruled against the federal law that bans drug users from having guns. But the law remains in effect in many states and has been used to charge others including Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son.
Federal prosecutors in Virginia argued in court filings that Taylor’s “chronic, persistent and … life-affecting abuse extends this case far beyond any occasional and/or recreational use.”
Prosecutors had sought a 21-month prison sentence.
“This case is not a marijuana case,” they wrote. “It is a case that underscores the inherently dangerous nature and circumstances that arise from the caustic cocktail of mixing consistent and prolonged controlled substance use with a lethal firearm.”
Taylor agreed in June to a negotiated guilty plea. She was convicted of using marijuana while owning a gun as well as lying about her drug use on a federal form when she bought the gun.
Taylor’s attorneys had asked the judge for probation and home confinement, according to court filings. They argued Taylor needs counseling for issues that include schizoaffective disorder, a condition that shares symptoms with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
“Ms. Taylor is deeply saddened, extremely despondent, and completely remorseful for the unintended consequences and mistakes that led to this horrible shooting,” her attorneys wrote.
They also said she needs treatment for marijuana addiction.
“Addiction is a disease and incarceration is not the cure,” her attorneys wrote.
Taylor’s attorneys also argued that the U.S. Supreme Court could eventually strike down the federal ban on drug users owning guns. For example, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled in August that drug users should not automatically be banned from having guns.
Other lower courts have upheld the ban and the Justice Department has appealed the 5th Circuit ruling to the Supreme Court. The high court has not yet decided whether to take up the case.
Federal law generally prohibits people from possessing firearms if they have been convicted of a felony, been committed to a mental institution or are an unlawful user of a controlled substance, among other things.
The United States Sentencing Commission reported that nearly 8,700 people were convicted under the law last year. The commission did not provide a detailed breakdown of how many were charged because of their drug use. But it said nearly 88% of them were convicted because of a prior felony conviction.
Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the pro-legalization group Marijuana Policy Project, told The Associated Press in June that about 18% of Americans admitted to using cannabis in the last year and about 40% owned guns.
Taylor’s grandfather has had full custody of her son, now age 7, since the shooting, according to court documents.
Taylor’s son told authorities he obtained the gun by climbing onto a drawer to reach the top of a dresser, where the firearm was in his mom’s purse. Taylor initially told investigators she had secured her gun with a trigger lock, but investigators never found one.
Immediately after the shooting, the child told a reading specialist who restrained him: “I shot that (expletive) dead,” and “I got my mom’s gun last night,” according to search warrants.
It was not the first time Taylor’s gun was fired in public, prosecutors wrote. Taylor shot at her son’s father in December after seeing him with his girlfriend.
“u kouldve killed me,” the father said to Taylor in a text message, according to a brief from prosecutors.
Sometime after her son shot his teacher, Taylor smoked two blunts, prosecutors added. She also failed drug tests while awaiting sentencing on the federal charges.
Taylor’s attorneys said Taylor “vulnerably stands before this court humiliated, contrite and saddened.”
Virginia
How to watch Louisville volleyball vs. Virginia (11/22/24) online without cable | FREE LIVE STREAM for ACC game
The No. 3 Louisville Cardinals volleyball team face the Virginia Tech Hokies on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 (11/22/24) in ACC play at in Charlottesville, Va.
How to watch: Fans can watch the game on ACCNX, or ACC Network Extra, a streaming-only service which is available through ACC Network authenticated subscribers, such as DirecTV Stream (watch with free trial) or fuboTV (watch with free trial).
If your TV provider includes the ACC Network, you already have access to ACCNX. You can view the ACCNX broadcast via the ESPN app or espn.com/watch using your TV provider credentials.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: ACC volleyball
Who: Louisville vs. Virginia
When: Friday, Nov. 22 (11/22/24)
Where:
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: N/A
Live stream: fuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial)
***
Top 25 NCAA Volleyball Rankings
Games through Nov. 18, 2024
1, Pitt; 2, Nebraska; 3, Louisville; 4, Penn State; 5, Creighton; 6, Wisconsin; 7, Stanford; 8, Purdue; 9, Arizona State; 10, SMU; 11, Kansas; 12, Kentucky; 13, Oregon; 14, Texas; 15, Georgia Tech; 16, Minnesota; 17, Baylor; 18, Dayton; 19, Utah; 20, Florida; 21, Southern California; 22, TCU; 23, Florida State; 24, BYU; 25, Missouri.
***
Here are the best streaming options for college sports this season:
Fubo TV (free trial): fuboTV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC, NBC and CBS.
DirecTV Stream (free trial): DirecTV Stream carries ESPN, FOX, NBC and CBS.
Sling TV – Sling TV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC and NBC.
ESPN+ ($9.99 a month): ESPN+ carries college football games each weekend for only $9.99 a month. These games are exclusive to the platform.
Peacock TV ($5.99 a month): Peacock will simulstream all of NBC Sports’ college football games airing on the NBC broadcast network this season, including Big Ten Saturday Night. Peacock will also stream Notre Dame home games. Certain games will be streamed exclusively on Peacock this year as well.
Paramount+ (free trial): Paramount Plus will live stream college football games airing on CBS this year.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription
RICHMOND, Va. — Friday will be windy and cold with highs in the 40s and wind chills in the 20s and 30s. A few scattered showers will be around, especially later in the day. Rain chances will be higher north of I-64, where some wet flakes could mix in. Wind gusts over 30 mph are possible.
For those traveling, the mountains of West Virginia will see significant snowfall over the next 48 hours, with one to two feet possible in the highest elevations. The Virginia panhandle will pick up a few inches of snow.
Saturday will be breezy with highs in the upper 50s to 60. Sunday will be mostly sunny with highs in the lower 60s.
Monday will be mostly sunny with highs in the low to mid-60s.
A cold front will move through Tuesday morning with the slight chance of a shower.
Wednesday will be cooler with increasing clouds. Highs will be in the lower 50s.
As of now, it looks like a storm system will bring some rain into the area Wednesday night into Thursday.
Stay With CBS 6, The Weather Authority.
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WTVR
Virginia and SMU will meet for the first time ever on Saturday at Scott Stadium, finally clashing on the gridiron nearly three years after the two programs were supposed to face each other in the Fenway Bowl at the end of the 2021 season. There is plenty at stake in this one, as the13th-ranked Mustangs look to keep their unblemished ACC record intact and clinch a spot in the ACC Championship Game, while the Cavaliers are hoping to clinch bowl eligibility and send their seniors out with a win in their final game at Scott Stadium.
Read on for a full preview of Virginia vs. SMU with everything you need to know, including game details and notes, an opponent scouting report, what to watch for, and a score prediction.
Who: Virginia Cavaliers (5-5, 3-3 ACC) vs. SMU Mustangs (9-1, 6-0 ACC)
When: Saturday, November 23rd at 12pm ET
Where: Scott Stadium (61,500) in Charlottesville, VA
How to watch: ESPN2
How to listen: SiriusXM 381, SXM App 971 | Virginia Sports Radio Network
All-time series: first meeting
Read Virginia’s injury report for the SMU game here: UVA Football Week 13 Injury Report: Kam Robinson, James Jackson, Corey Thomas
See below for UVA’s week 13 depth chart for the SMU game: Virginia Football Depth Chart vs. SMU | Takeaways, Analysis
2023: 11-3, 8-0 AAC
2024: 9-1, 6-0 ACC
For Rhett Lashlee and the Mustangs, their first foray into the Atlantic Coast Conference couldn’t be going much better, save an 18-15 loss in week 3 to BYU, a team that is still alive for the Big 12 Championship. SMU comes to Charlottesville riding a seven-game winning streak, which includes a 66-42 victory over TCU, an impressive 34-27 win on the road at then-No. 22 Louisville, an overtime victory over Duke that was a bit fortunate as the Blue Devils squandered multiple chances to win the game late, but the Mustangs followed that up with their most impressive win of the season, a 48-25 victory over Pitt. Last week, SMU was tested by Boston College, but ultimately pulled away for a 38-28 win.
SMU has the second-ranked scoring offense in the ACC, averaging just under 40 points per game. Powering that offense is a very strong run game, the second-best rushing offense in the ACC (190.9 rushing yards per game and 24 rushing touchdowns), which is headlined by one of the top running backs in the country in Brashard Smith, who has racked up 1,026 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns and is averaging more than 100 yards per game.
Though SMU leans heavily on its ground game, the Mustangs are more than capable of throwing the ball as well. Quarterback Kevin Jennings ranks fourth in the ACC in completion percentage at 65.4% and is careful with the football, throwing 15 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He has a plethora of targets in the passing game, as SMU boasts three receivers with at least four touchdowns, four who have at least 20 catches, and five who have hauled in multiple touchdown passes this season.
SMU’s run defense is even better than its rushing offense, leading the ACC in run defense and allowing less than 100 yards per game on the ground. The Mustangs are a quite a bit weaker in pass defense, surrendering almost 250 passing yards per game, which is 13th in the ACC. SMU makes up for it by forcing turnovers, recording 14 interceptions (2nd-most in the ACC) and six fumble recoveries.
SMU has 23 sacks as a team this season, 9.5 of which have come from dynamic defensive ends Isaiah Smith and Jahfari Harvey, who will put a ton of pressure on UVA’s offensive tackles. Keep an eye on safeties Isaiah Nwokobia and Ahmaad Moses, who have each posted three interceptions this season.
UVA’s quarterback situation
With Anthony Colandrea’s quarterback play regressing recently (seven interceptions and one touchdown pass in his last three games) and Tony Muskett playing decently in his garbage time backup opportunities, Muskett and Colandrea have been splitting first-team reps in practice this week. Tony Elliott said on Tuesday that he was still leaning towards Colandrea retaining his starting job, but even if that’s the case, it’ll be interesting to see if Elliott has Colandrea on a short leash. Muskett has yet to enter a game that wasn’t already completely out of reach. Virginia is desperate to pick up that sixth win, so it should be all hands on deck.
Turnover margin and red zone efficiency
Virginia is -4 in the turnover margin department this season and ball security has been a particular issue recently. SMU, meanwhile, has forced 20 turnovers this season. The Mustangs are also ranked third in the ACC in both red zone offense and red zone defense, while the Cavaliers have struggled with red zone efficiency all season. An upset win for UVA will likely require the Hoos to win the turnover battle and execute at a high level in the red zone on both sides of the ball.
Defend home field
Virginia is 2-3 at home this season, with those wins coming against Richmond and Boston College. The Cavaliers must have some pride about protecting their home field and sending their seniors out on top in their last games at home. Much has been made about UVA’s home attendance this season. In their final opportunity to see Virginia football play at home this season, we’re looking for the UVA faithful to show out at Scott Stadium and provide the Hoos with a real home field advantage.
Virginia is capable of hanging around with and even beating SMU if the Cavaliers bring their A game. But UVA hasn’t been able to bring that A game consistently this season or even throughout all four quarters of a game and that’s what it’ll likely take in order to slow down SMU. I see the Pony Express continuing to roll as the Mustangs pick up their eighth straight win, remain unbeaten in conference play, and secure their spot in the ACC Championship Game.
Score prediction: SMU 31, Virginia 23
UVA Football: Players to Watch in Virginia vs. SMU
Stat Comparison: How Virginia Football Stacks Up Against SMU on Paper
Tony Elliott Updates the Virginia Football Quarterback Situation
UVA Football Week 13 Injury Report: Kam Robinson, James Jackson, Corey Thomas
Virginia Football Depth Chart vs. SMU | Takeaways, Analysis
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