Recent Prosecutions Of Firearms Offenses In Fresno Court

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 offenses.

Richard Reyes, a 37-year-old resident of Fresno, was sentenced today by United States Chief District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to nine years and two months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, on March 21, 2017, Reyes crashed his vehicle into another car and fled the scene of the accident. Police found him a few houses away.  In Reyes’s car, police found a short-barreled rifle and a sawed-off shotgun, along with ammunition. This case was the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Fresno Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Ross Pearson prosecuted the case.

Delwyn Gladney, a 49-year-old resident of Fresno, was sentenced today by United States Chief District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to seven years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, Gladney was riding his bicycle without a front light on February 26, 2017.  Police officers attempted to stop him, but he rode away. They followed him to a nearby parking lot, where they saw him place a gun behind a parked car. This case was the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Fresno Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Ross Pearson prosecuted the case.

Miguel Saldate, a 42-year-old resident of Modesto, pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, police officers came to search Saldate’s house and observed him drop a firearm near a shed.  Saldate is scheduled to be sentenced by United States Chief District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on January 14, 2019. This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Ross Pearson is prosecuting the case.

Daniel Sandoval-Arce, a 42-year-old resident of Turlock, pleaded guilty today to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, police officers searched a house in Turlock, where they found Sandoval-Arce in possession of firearms and a military-grade 60-millimeter mortar round. Sandoval-Arce is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Dale A. Drozd on January 7, 2019. This case is the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the Turlock Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Ross Pearson is prosecuting the case.

Salvador Tarango, 35, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to possession of an unregistered firearm.  According to court documents, on March 7, 2018, Bakersfield Police Officers responded to a call reporting shots fired in the early morning hours.  Officers found shell casings in the defendant’s driveway.  During a search, officers found an unregistered weapon made from a rifle with a barrel of less than 16 inches in length.  A partially-loaded, high capacity magazine was found in close proximity to the weapon.  Tarango is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on January 22, 2019. This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Bakersfield Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie L. Alsworth is prosecuting the case.

Orasio Fierro, 27, of Winton, was sentenced last week by United States Chief District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to four years and eleven months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, on multiple occasions between January 2017 and May 2017, Fierro sold firearms to an alleged gang member, including two AR-15-type rifles. Fierro pleaded guilty to the offense in June 2018. This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the California Department of Justice Special Operations Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Ross Pearson and Kimberly A. Sanchez prosecuted the case.

Bryan Mancia, 31, of Fresno, was sentenced on October 10, 2018, by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to 2 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  In June 2018, Mancia  pleaded guilty to the charge. According to court documents, Mancia had a firearm in his pocket during an encounter with police.  This case was the product of an investigation by the Fresno Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez prosecuted 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.