Deja Taylor mom of 6 year old boy who shot Abby Zwerner, Virginia teacher during class faces federal gun & drug charges in latest slew of charges.
The mother of a 6-year-old Virginia boy accused of shooting school teacher Abby Zwerner earlier this year has been charged with federal gun and drug crimes.
Deja Taylor, 25, who is already facing child neglect and gun charges in state court over the Jan. 6 shooting, is now charged by the feds with lying about using marijuana when she bought a gun last year, according to KTVB-TV News.
Taylor allegedly claimed she did not use drugs when she bought the 9 mm handgun at a Grafton, Virginia gun shop on July 19, 2022, court records show.
Illegal to be a user of a controlled substance and gun owner
Although marijuana is legal in Virginia, among other states, the use of a controlled substance while in possession of a handgun is illegal under federal law.
Though several states have moved to legalize marijuana in recent years — including Virginia in 2021 — the drug remains illegal under federal law. Marijuana remains a controlled substance federally, just like heroin and cocaine, and it’s a federal felony to use it while armed with a gun.
Moreover, Taylor is accused of lying on a federal background check form when she purchased the handgun on July 19, 2022.
Taylor walked out of the store with a Taurus 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, the same gun that her son used six months later at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News.
Taylor’s lawyer, Jimmy Ellenson, told WTKR-TV that she plans to plead guilty to the federal charges.
‘We’ve come to an agreement and a resolution which I think will be satisfactory to all parties,’ Elleson said.
‘She gave interviews to the police the day this occurred and gave another interview the week after,’ he said. ‘We consented to a search of her mom’s house. We consented to an i-Phone download as well so she has been cooperative from day one.’
Taylor’s son allegedly shot the beloved teacher in the head and chest as she read to her first-grade class. To this day the bullet remains lodged in the educator’s upper torso according to the Virginia Pilot.
The episode came two days after the boy having been suspended for smashing Zwerner’s cell phone after she told him to sit down in class.
Felony child neglect and reckless access to firearms to children
The teacher claims she warned school administrators about the boy’s behavior in the past, including giving a classmate the middle finger and shoving another student to the ground.
On Jan. 6, the child brought the gun to class and shot Zwerner.
A grand jury indicted Taylor in April with felony child neglect count and a misdemeanor count of ‘allowing access to firearms by children’ for leaving her handgun in a location where the boy was able to get a hold of it.
Taylor faces up to six years behind bars on those two state charges, with a trial scheduled for Newport News Circuit Court on Aug. 15.
‘I am, as a parent, obviously willing to take responsibility’
Appearing on ABC’s “Good Morning America” last month, the mother said that her son ‘felt like he was being ignored’ in the days leading up to the incident.
‘I am, as a parent, obviously willing to take responsibility for him because he can’t take responsibility for himself,’ she said during the interview.
Taylor also said her son had been diagnozed with ADHD.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inappropriate.
Taylor is due back in court on the state charges in August.
Meanwhile, Zwerner has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school district over the incident, claiming that administrators ignored her warnings about the boy’s ‘violent’ behavior.
In her civil suit, Zwerner contends that Richneck Assistant Principal Ebony Parker ignored several ‘stark warnings’ that the boy had a gun on him on the day of the shooting.
Zwerner has revealed she remains traumatized by the incident, and said there are days she can’t even get out of bed.
