| Death of Pot
Seller In Brooklyn in 2011 Resulted in 3
Guilty Pleas Now Mazur Motion
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Nov 3 – Kevin Taylor, Gary
Robles and Michael Mazur were
indicted for the death of
Joshua Rubin while robbing him
of marijuana near 1021
McDonald Avenue,
Brooklyn.
Early in
the (cold) case, U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge
Laura Taylor Swain held a
proceeding. Inner City Press
covered it.
Then on September
17, 2021, KEVIN TAYLOR, GARY
ROBLES, and MICHAEL MAZUR pled
guilty to participating in the
October 31, 2011, murder of
Joshua Rubin. After
shooting and killing Rubin in
Brooklyn, New York, the
defendants drove Rubin’s body
to rural Pennsylvania, where
they doused his body in
lighter fluid and set it on
fire. TAYLOR and ROBLES
pled guilty today. MAZUR
pled guilty on July 1,
2021. All three
defendants will be sentenced
by U.S. District Judge Jed S.
Rakoff, to whom the case is
assigned."
On
February 10, 2022 Taylor was
up for sentencing before Judge
Rakoff, in large Courtroom 24B
which was full. Inner City
Press live tweeted (most of)
it, thread here:
now for killing
of Joshua Rubin, Kevin Taylor
is up for sentencing before
SDNY Judge Jed Rakoff. The
(large) courtroom is full.
Taylor's lawyer:
He's been locked up in Essex
for two years, and no
infractions. Maybe you'll give
him another 26 years like his
co-defending. You see his
family in here today.
(Courtroom full). You've seen
photos of the victim, too...
From US
sentencing submission (they're
asking for 360 months, or 30
years; Probation recommends
25. Defense is asking for 20
years, minus the two years
already served
Assistant US
Attorney: This room is full
with the defendant's family.
And that's a good thing. But
there's also relatives of Mr.
Rubin. They've been here for
every sentencing. So we will
tell the facts again, of the
fateful night of October 2011.
AUSA: First
he tried to rob Joshua Rubin
but it didn't work. So he
tried again with
Robles... [From US
Sentencing submission: Rubin
was confronted by Taylor &
Robles who demanded he turn
over the marijuana. When Rubin
refused, Robles shot him once
in the chest]
Judge Rakoff: For
me the big issue in this
sentencing is the comparison
of Mr. Taylor and Mr. Robles.
To be honest, though I haven't
made up my mind, the
likelihood I will give only 20
years is low. It's between 25,
28 and 30, realistically
AUSA: On the
drive out to Pennsylvania, he
took the victim's credit
cards. He sends 2 friends
shopping with them. He gets a
shirt. That conduct, after
murder - it doesn't stop
there. Years after the murder,
when he is no longer a
teenager, he offers $ to
witnesses
Here from the
docket are the credit card
charges: Polo in Woodbury
Mall, and Wasabi Janes ("Asian
Food") [After a brief
programming snafu]
Judge Rakoff: I
am sentencing him to 28 years.
No fine, because he is not the
position to pay one now or in
the immediate future.
Judge
Rakoff: You have the right to
appeal, do you understand?
Taylor (in a
suit) Yes your Honor.
Marshals handcuff
him.
Jump cut to
November 3, 2025 when on
Mazur's motion to vacate under
28 USC 2255 Magistrate Robyn
F. Tarnofsky heard oral
argument, and asked for
post-argument briefs on
November 24, and December 8.
The case is US v.
Taylor, et al., 20-cr-227
(Rakoff Tarnofsky)
***
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