A Norfolk man who fired at police officers during a foot chase in May 2024 has been sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison for that shooting and two other incidents. Markell Taylor, 27, was shot by officers that night and later convicted on multiple charges stemming from the confrontation and an assault on an officer while he was in custody and recovering from his shooting injuries at a hospital.
The Shooting That Started It All
According to WAVY.com, Taylor was sentenced for three separate incidents, with the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's Office attributing the combined term to a pattern of criminal and assaultive behavior. The case traces back to May 24, 2024, when officers James Burke and Zachary Humphrey recognized Taylor at a convenience store and Burke confirmed he had an outstanding arrest warrant, per the station's reporting. As officers Benjamin R. Thorpe and Mitchell F. Phillips arrived to help during the pursuit, Taylor pulled out a firearm and shot at Burke, the outlet reported.
As reported by WTKR, Taylor fired shots toward the Norfolk officers after they pursued him on the outstanding warrant. Burke tore an ACL in one knee while dodging gunfire, and he and Thorpe returned fire, shooting Taylor in the leg and torso, according to the WAVY.com account. Officers then took Taylor into custody and gave him first aid before he was taken to a hospital, the same account notes.
Officer's Long Road Back, Investigation Clears Police
Burke underwent knee surgery and roughly a year of physical rehabilitation before he was cleared to return to work, the station's report states. WTKR separately reported that one officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated and released from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. The two outlets differ on where exactly the confrontation unfolded: the WAVY.com account places it near East Virginia Beach Boulevard and Wide Street, while WTKR described the scene as along Bagnall Road.
Virginia State Police investigated the officer-involved shooting at the request of the Norfolk Police Department and the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, per the same account. Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi concluded that the officers were justified in returning fire and committed no crime, the outlet reported, later adding that Fatehi said the officers acted to protect themselves and others.
Charges, a Guilty Plea and a Jury Trial
Taylor was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, two counts of attempted malicious wounding of law enforcement officers, and two firearm-use counts, according to the station's report. The charges stemmed partly from a separate arrest: Taylor had been taken into custody in April 2024 on an active warrant from an incident in Chesapeake, and police found a firearm on him at that time, prompting a magistrate to charge him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and set a secured bond, the outlet noted.
Taylor pleaded guilty to that felon-in-possession charge in March 2025, and Judge Joseph C. Lindsey accepted a plea agreement that did not specify a sentence, per the same account. In May 2025, Lindsey sentenced Taylor to one year and four months in prison while suspending three years and eight months, conditioned on three years of supervised probation and five years of uniform good behavior after release, the report states. The Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's Office separately secured a grand jury indictment against Taylor for maliciously wounding a law-enforcement officer, though prosecutors later withdrew one of the two attempted-malicious-wounding charges, according to the outlet's reporting.
Taylor pleaded not guilty to the remaining charges and chose a jury trial, per the same account. A jury found him guilty after hearing evidence on March 31, 2026, and Judge Robert B. Rigney continued the case for a presentence report and sentencing hearing, the station reported. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney A. Robinson Winn prosecuted each of Taylor's cases, while Senior Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Emily A. Woodley led the prosecution alongside Winn at the jury trial, according to the outlet.
An Assault While in Custody Added More Time
The sentence also covers a separate incident from June 2024, when Taylor, while in custody and recovering from his shooting injuries at a hospital, threw his bedside urinal and a bottled drink at an officer and spat at them, per the same report. Judge Tasha D. Scott found him guilty of misdemeanor assault in February 2025 and sentenced him to 12 months in jail with no time suspended, the outlet noted. Norfolk Police Sgt. Daryl R. Jarvis led the investigation into Taylor's assault on law enforcement, according to the station's account.
Taylor's defense counsel moved to set aside the jury verdict for malicious wounding of a law enforcement officer on September 16, 2026, but Rigney denied that motion, the outlet reported. The same day, Rigney granted the Commonwealth's motion to dismiss the attempted malicious-wounding conviction and sentenced Taylor to 10 years and 10 months in prison, suspending nine years and two months, conditioned on one year of supervised probation and three years of uniform good behavior after release, per the same account. Taylor's active sentence fell within Virginia sentencing guidelines, the report states, and his sentences across the three cases will run consecutively, bringing his total to 13 years and six months in prison.
What the Law Says About Firing on Officers
Virginia law treats the use of a firearm against a law-enforcement officer as especially serious. Under Virginia Code § 18.2-53.1, it is unlawful to use or attempt to use a firearm, or to display it in a threatening manner, while committing or attempting specified offenses, including malicious bodily injury to a law-enforcement officer, with a violation standing as a separate and distinct felony. The malicious-wounding charge itself falls under Virginia Code § 18.2-51.1, which addresses malicious bodily injury to law-enforcement officers, firefighters, search and rescue personnel, or emergency medical services personnel.
