Fresno Escapee Charged Again with Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned two one-count indictments today against Samuel Delacruz, 40, of Fresno, charging him with escaping from custody and being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Delacruz was transferred from the Federal Correction Institute in Phoenix, Arizona to Turning Point Fresno Residential Reentry Center to serve the remainder of his federal sentence. He escaped on October 15, 2017, by leaving without permission, and his whereabouts remained unknown until he was apprehended in Fresno on March 22, 2018, after fleeing from police and tossing a gun into an area where children were playing. His underlying conviction was for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Delacruz faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the felon in possession charge and five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the escape charge. Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative that brings together federal, state and local law enforcement to combat gun and gang crime. At the core of PSN is increased federal prosecution to incapacitate chronic violent offenders as well as to communicate a credible deterrent threat to potential gun offenders.