Repeat Offender Gets Almost 9 Years

After being caught three times in four months with loaded firearms, a 30-year-old Vacaville man was sentenced on May 3 in U.S. District Court in Sacramento to eight years and ten months in federal prison.

Although he was caught with firearms, he was charged as a state felon in possession of ammunition, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California.

Federal, state, and Local Coordination

As a repeat offender, the Vacaville man was prosecuted under the U.S. Department of Justice Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program. PSN teams a “broad spectrum” of federal, state, and local agencies to combat violent crime through:

• community engagement,
• prevention and intervention,
• focused and strategic enforcement, and
• accountability.

According to the DOJ website, “The fundamental goal of this work is to reduce violent crime in the places we call home, not to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions as if they were ends in themselves.”

A Felon with Loaded Guns

According to the Imperial Valley News, citing an FBI report, a federal grand jury indicted the Vacaville man in February 2021.

The prosecution presented evidence that included:

• 8/17/20—A friend took the offender to the hospital with a gunshot wound. At first, he claimed to have been shot by an unknown assailant, but he eventually admitted it was an accidental, self-inflicted injury. Police recovered a Walther P22 semi-automatic pistol in the friend's car.
• 9/18/20—When they arrested the offender on an outstanding warrant, police found him in possession of an unserialized ghost gun.
• 11/18/20—Offender was spotted by police in a parked car. A police dog alerted officers to narcotics, and the offender was arrested again with another ghost gun.

The Fairfield Police Department, Vacaville Police Department, Solano County District Attorney's Office, FBI Solano County Violent Crimes Task Force, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives collaborated on the investigation and prosecution.

Anyone who has been charged with a federal crime will be prosecuted by highly trained professionals from the U.S. Attorney's Office. The Sigal Law Group offers aggressive criminal defense at affordable prices. Call 818-325-0570 for a free consultation.