ENRICO MARCELL POINTS, 31, of Renton, Washington was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 87 months in prison and three years of supervised release for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. POINTS was arrested August 16, 2007, following the serving of a search warrant on his Renton apartment. Officers were investigating POINTS’ girlfriend for her involvement in a massage parlor promoting prostitution. When they served a search warrant the officers discovered three firearms in POINTS’ bedroom. At sentencing Chief U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik called POINTS “a menace to our community.” Chief Judge Lasnik said the safety of the community was paramount in his mind as he imposed a sentence at the top of the guidelines range.

According to records filed in the case, POINTS has a long history of weapons violations, including involvement with a fatal shooting. POINTS has four felony convictions, which make it illegal for him to possess a firearm: Possession of Cocaine, June 2000, King County, Washington; Possession of a Prohibited Weapon, July 2000, Galveston County, Texas; Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, August 2001, Pierce County, Washington; Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, March 2004, King County, Washington. When law enforcement searched POINTS’ apartment, they recovered a fully loaded .357 revolver that had been reported stolen in 2000, a 12 gauge shotgun, and a Poly Tech semi-automatic rifle loaded with 28 rounds of ammunition.

In his sentencing memo, Special Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Colasurdo noted that POINTS has eight previous incidents that involve the use or misuse of a firearm. Most significantly, in 1998, POINTS shot and killed a man who had come to his house apparently to buy drugs. POINTS claimed the shooting was self defense, but was charged and convicted of drug possession in connection with the incident. He was sentenced to two months in jail. In an incident from 2003, POINTS was arrested after waiving a loaded gun around at a party in north King County. He was sentenced to 12 months in jail – his longest custody time before today. In two other cases from 2003 and 2004, POINTS threatened others with a gun.

At sentencing Mr. Colasurdo told the court POINTS “not only possesses (guns), he is willing to use them. And as long as he possesses firearms he is a danger to the community.” Chief Judge Lasnik agreed saying he wanted to protect the public from POINTS for as long as possible.

POINTS was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program. Unveiled by President George W. Bush in May 2001, Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), is a comprehensive and strategic approach to gun law enforcement. PSN is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in America by networking both new and existing local programs that target gun crime and then providing them with the resources and tools they need to succeed. Implementation at the local level -- in this case, in King County-- has fostered close partnerships between federal, state and local prosecutors and law enforcement.

The case was investigated by the King County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Colasurdo. Mr. Colasurdo is a Deputy King County Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute gun cases in federal court.

For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4110.

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