Vallejo Felon Indicted for a Second Federal Firearms Offense

A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment Thursday against Marquese Alvin Roberts, 36, of Vallejo, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, on May 3, 2025, law enforcement received numerous reports of multiple gunshots heard on the 1600 block of Fairgrounds Drive, in Vallejo. With the assistance of a CHP helicopter and other agencies, officers investigated these reports. During the investigation, officers in the helicopter observed Roberts remove a firearm from a vehicle and conceal it in nearby bushes. They directed law enforcement officers on the ground to the location, where they arrested Roberts and recovered the firearm. At the time of the offense, Roberts was on supervised release following a federal conviction in 2018 for carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Vallejo Police Department, the American Canyon Police Department, the California Highway Patrol Air Unit, the FBI’s Solano County Violent Crimes Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Solano County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella is prosecuting the case.

Roberts was arrested for a related supervised release violation on May 7, 2025, and remains in federal custody as a result of that violation.

If convicted, Roberts faces a maximum statutory penalty of 15 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 defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.