Man pleads guilty to gun charges in cop's shooting
A Fayetteville man has pleaded guilty to federal weapons charges in connection with the shooting of a police officer last year, authorities said.
Posted — UpdatedRobert Hampton Taylor, 52, of Newport Road, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in a conspiracy to commit robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He will be sentenced later.
Taylor and Steven Craig Bethea, 40, of Dorchester Drive in Fayetteville, have been accused of trying to rob Kato Bingo Hall, on Yadkin Road, on March 26, 2007. Fayetteville Officer Douglas Austin pulled them over in a traffic stop on Jack's Ford Road, authorities said, and one of the men shot Austin in the chest and beat on him before a Fort Bragg soldier who lived nearby heard the commotion and came to Austin's aid.
Bethea pleaded guilty to similar charges in the case last month. He hasn't been sentenced yet.
Austin is the son of Fayetteville City Councilwoman Lois Kirby. His father is a baseball coach at Methodist University.
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