Recent Prosecutions of Firearm and Gang-Related Offenses in Fresno Area 9-24-18

FRESNO, Calif. — As part the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California’s strategy to reduce violent crime, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced the following cases involving illegal firearms and gang-related offenses.

On Monday U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd sentenced Darrell Maxey, 22, to 10 years in prison and Anthony Windfield, 33, to seven years and three months in prison for conspiring to murder a rival gang member. According to court documents, Maxey and Windfield were members or associates of the Dog Pound Gang (DPG). Windfield also was sentenced to a concurrent term of prison for conspiracy to commit credit card fraud and ordered to pay over $25,000 in restitution. This case is the product of an investigation by the California DOJ’s Bureau of Investigation Special Operations Unit, the Fresno Police Department, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Sanchez, Jeffrey Spivak and Christopher Baker are prosecuting the case.

Randy Seja, 26, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday by Judge Drozd to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Christopher Martinez Jr. 25, of Fresno, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine According to court documents Seja and Martinez were members of the Bulldog criminal street gang and ranking members of the associated Malos Hechos Motorcycle gang. Martinez is scheduled to be sentenced on December 10, 2018.  This case is the product of an investigation by ATF, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Fresno Police Department, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the Mult-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC), the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation- Division of Adult Parole, the Fresno County Probation, and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanie L. Alsworth and Kimberly A. Sanchez are prosecuting the case.

Kwesi Jamar Coker, 26, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday by Chief U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to four years and two months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, on October 5, 2016, Coker was arrested after a car chase by law enforcement officers. A firearm was found in the car with the fingerprints of Coker and co-defendant Bryan Washington on it. Both have prior felony convictions and are prohibited from possessing a firearm. This case was the product of an investigation by ATF and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez prosecuted the case.

Robert James Guthrie, 23, of Atwater, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to engage in the business of selling firearms without a license. According to court documents, Guthrie was a member of the A-town Locs. Between January 13 and May 10, 2017, he engaged in 13 transactions in which he sold 26 firearms, a silencer, over 1.3 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 44 grams of cocaine. Agents seized a pound of methamphetamine from his residence. Guthrie is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge O’Neill on December 10, 2018. This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI, ATF, HSI, the Merced Area Gang and Narcotic Enforcement Team (MAGNET), and the California DOJ California Highway Patrol Special Operations Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Sanchez and Ross Pearson are prosecuting the case.

Terry McGruder, 30, of Fresno, pleaded guilty Monday to being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, on January 3, 2017, McGruder possessed a firearm that he threw onto the roof of a hotel as he was running from police. He was prohibited from possessing a fire arm because of his prior felony convictions. McGruder is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Drozd on December 17, 2018. This case was the product of an investigation by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez is prosecuting the case.

Daniel Casares, 35, of Fresno, pleaded guilty Monday to being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, on April 13, 2017, Casares was in possession of a firearm. As a previously convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge O’Neill on December 17, 2018. This case is the product of an investigation by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez is prosecuting the case.

Dionne Singleton, 41, of Fresno, pleaded guilty Monday to being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm in a school zone, and distribution of crack cocaine. On October 10, 2016, Singleton possessed a handgun as well as a 30-round magazine loaded with 28 rounds of ammunition less than 500 feet from a school zone. Singleton has prior felony convictions for infliction of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant and shooting at an inhabited dwelling, and is prohibited from possessing a firearm. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Drozd on December 10, 2018. This case is the product of an investigation by ATF, the FBI, the Fresno Police Department, MAGEC, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, and the California DOJ California Highway Patrol Special Operations Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez is prosecuting the case.

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) was involved in the investigation of many of these cases. The OCDETF program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

These cases are 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. Attorney General Jeff Sessions 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.