LOUISVILLE, KY – A federal grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, returned two separate indictments on March 16, 2022, charging two Louisville men with carjackings and business robberies, including one carjacking resulting in a serious bodily injury.
According to court documents, on October 26, 2021, Eder Mayorga-Sanchez, 19, carjacked a vehicle in Louisville, and during the carjacking, shot and caused serious bodily injury to a minor, C.A. Thereafter, on November 8, 2021, he robbed The Home Depot on Preston Highway and a Valero convenience store on Terry Road, in Louisville, Kentucky, while brandishing a firearm.
Aries Taylor, 18, in a separate indictment, is also charged with carjacking a vehicle in Louisville on September 19, 2021.
Mayorga-Sanchez is currently detained on state charges and will be arraigned once he is transferred to federal custody. Mayorga-Sanchez was indicted on one count of carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, two counts of interference with commerce by robbery, one count of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
If convicted of carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, Mayorga-Sanchez faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. If convicted of interference with commerce by robbery, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. If convicted of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison to run consecutively with all other penalties. If convicted of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 7 years in prison for each count of conviction, to run consecutively with all other penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Taylor was indicted on one count of carjacking. He made his initial appearance in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on March 23, 2022.
If convicted of carjacking, Taylor faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The charges were announced by Michael A. Bennett, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
The charges were the result of a joint federal and local initiative to investigate and prosecute carjackings in Louisville. The initiative includes the United States Attorney’s Office, the Jefferson County Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Marie Blaylock is prosecuting the Mayorga-Sanchez case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Gomez is prosecuting the Taylor case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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