Two Fresno Men Indicted for Illegal Possession of a Firearm

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned two indictments today charging two Fresno residents with violations of federal firearm laws, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert  announced.

Mike Marty Hernandez, 26, was charged with one count of being a felon in possession a firearm. According to court documents, on May 23, 2022, Hernandez was arrested after law enforcement officers observed him in possession of a loaded 9 mm handgun equipped with a large capacity magazine. In 2019, Hernandez was convicted of threatening a public official and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Julio Cesar Lopez, 33, was charged with one count of being a felon in possession a firearm. According to court documents, on May 17, 2022, Lopez was found to be in possession of a .45‑caliber semi-automatic firearm. The gun was loaded and equipped with a 13‑round magazine. A subsequent search of Lopez’s residence recovered a sawed-off shotgun and approximately 50 rounds of ammunition. Lopez has been convicted in Fresno County of burglary, evading a peace office and firearms offenses.

These cases are the product of investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fresno Police Department Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation assisted in the investigation of Lopez. Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonio J. Pataca is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 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 defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

These cases are being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.