Fresno Area Man Pleads Guilty to Robbery and Firearm Charges

FRESNO, Calif. — James Gonzales-Gay, 35, of Sanger, pleaded guilty today to assaulting a mail carrier with the intent to commit robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on September 15, 2017, a mail carrier delivering mail in the area of Maple and Huntington, in Fresno, felt someone jump onto the bumper of his mail delivery truck. Gonzales-Gay appeared at the driver’s door, pulled the mail carrier from the truck, and began driving it away. After Gonzales-Gay drove the mail truck a short distance, the carrier was able to catch up to the truck and disable it. Gonzales-Gay elbowed the mail carrier in the face while struggling over control of the vehicle. After taking the keys from the ignition, the carrier was able to escape. Gonzales-Gay was soon thereafter stopped by law enforcement officers, who found parts of a Taurus handgun on Gonzales-Gay’s person. Gonzales-Gay is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurel J. Montoya is prosecuting the case.

Gonzales-Gay is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on February 5, 2018. Gonzales-Gay faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.