Previously Convicted Felon Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison After Arrest in Fairfield for Possession of a Firearm

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Brandon Edward Nichols, 28, of San Leandro, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to three years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court records, in December 2017, Fairfield police stopped Nichols’ car for a vehicle code violation. Nichols produced various credit cards and pieces of identification issued in other people’s names and was arrested for possessing these fraudulent cards. A gun was found in the driver-side door and a second gun was found during a subsequent search of Nichols’ hotel room. Nichols cannot lawfully possess firearms or ammunition because he has previously been convicted of three felony offenses. Nichols pleaded guilty on Feb. 21.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Fairfield Police Department with assistance from the FBI’s Solano County Violent Crimes Task Force and the Solano County District Attorney’s Office.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.