U.S. marshals arrest Cedar Rapids man wanted on 12 warrants

CEDAR RAPIDS — The U.S. Marshals Service and the Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force arrested a Cedar Rapids man, who was convicted in a fatal robbery as a juvenile, in Anamosa Wednesday on multiple gun and drug charges.

Gabriel De Trace Taylor, 29, was wanted on 12 warrants. He faces one federal charge for possession of a firearm by a felon. Linn County District Court charges include dominion/control of a firearm by a felon, persons ineligible to carry dangerous weapons, two counts each of unlawful possession of prescription drug and controlled substance violation, and one count of eluding and interference with official acts, and four counts of the drug tax stamp.

Investigators notified U.S. marshals of Taylor’s violent criminal history, including a juvenile conviction of murder, and a fugitive investigation started in August. Investigators with the Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force developed information Wednesday indicating Taylor was likely living with a family in Jones County.

U.S. marshals, along with the Anamosa Police Department and the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, arrested Taylor about 4 p.m. at a residence in the 400 block of Knoll Street in Anamosa. Taylor attempted to flee from the backdoor of the residence before he was taken into custody.

He remains in the Linn County Correctional Center pending an initial appearance in U.S. District Court.

Taylor, 17 at the time, was convicted, along with Johven Lee, 21, and Denum Null, 16 at the time, of robbing Kevin Bell, 26, of Cedar Rapids, in January 2010. Taylor and Lee, originally charged with first-degree murder, pleaded to the lesser charge of first-degree robbery because they went with Null to rob Bell.

Taylor was resentenced in 2015 to up to 25 years for first-degree robbery. He was paroled in 2021.

In the original sentence, he was required to serve the mandatory minimum of 17 and a half years before being eligible for parole, but a judge eliminated the mandatory minimum.

In 2014, the Iowa Supreme Court overturned a court of appeals decision for Taylor, which affirmed the original sentence and mandatory minimum.

Null was the one who brought a gun and shot Bell in the head. Null is serving up to 75 years in prison.

The U.S. Marshals Service is the federal government’s primary agency for fugitive investigations. Nationwide, 60 local task forces are dedicated to violent crime reduction by locating and apprehending wanted criminals.

The Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force includes the U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Linn County Sheriff’s Office; Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Marion and Sioux City police departments; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation; and Iowa Department of Correctional Services.

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