A 27-year-old D.C. man has been sentenced to 80 years in prison for the murders of a father and son at a Northeast Washington wholesale store, authorities said.
Christian Taylor was convicted in June on several counts of felony murder while armed, first-degree premeditated murder while armed, armed robbery, and second-degree burglary while armed. He was arrested six days after the June 2010 murders. Prosecutors said he shot Ming-Kun Chih, 59, and Li Jen Chih, 32, while robbing their store, Lida Wholesale Market, on the 1200 block of Fifth Street NE.
Authorities said Taylor entered the store, pointed a handgun at Li Jen Chih and told him to put money in a bag. In the midst of the robbery, Taylor shot both Li Jen Chih and his father before fleeing the scene, prosecutors said. Li Jen Chih died at the store from multiple gunshot wounds, authorities said, while his father died several hours later.
Investigators tracked Taylor down after a passer-by heard shots from the store and recorded the license plate number of a silver Pontiac fleeing the scene. The car turned out to belong to Taylor’s mother. Investigators also connected Taylor with the murders after recovering traces of his DNA from a broken bag handle.
