Daryl Campbell, A/K/A “Taxstone,” Pleads Guilty To Illegally Possessing A Semiautomatic Handgun At Irving Plaza

  Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DARYL CAMPBELL, a/k/a “Taxstone,” pled guilty yesterday to two federal weapons charges in connection with his possession of a semiautomatic handgun at Irving Plaza on May 25, 2016, the night a man was shot and killed there and  three others were wounded.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said:  “As he has now admitted, Daryl Campbell illegally carried a semiautomatic handgun into the Irving Plaza music venue.   That night Ronald McPhatter was shot and killed there, and three others were wounded.  We will continue to work with the NYPD, the FBI, and all our partners in law enforcement to protect New Yorkers from gun violence.”

According to the Indictment, Complaint, other documents filed in the case, and statements made during the plea proceedings: 

Sometime between October 2015 and May 25, 2016, CAMPBELL unlawfully received a Keltec 9mm semiautomatic handgun from outside the State of New York.  Although his prior felony conviction made it a federal crime for CAMPBELL to possess firearms, CAMPBELL nonetheless carried that gun to the Irving Plaza music venue on May 25, 2016.  At Irving Plaza, CAMPBELL confronted a rap music artist with whom CAMPBELL had been engaged in a long-running feud.  After that confrontation, the rap artist’s bodyguard and friend, Ronald McPhatter, was shot and killed, and the rap artist and two innocent bystanders were wounded. 

CAMPBELL, 31, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested on January 17, 2017, in Brooklyn, and has been in federal custody since.  CAMPBELL pled guilty today to both counts of the Indictment, which charged him with receiving a firearm in interstate commerce with the intent to commit another felony, and possessing a firearm after having previously been convicted of a felony.  The maximum sentence for each count is 10 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court. 

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding work of the NYPD’s Manhattan South Homicide Squad and the 13thPrecinct Detective Squad, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.