Gang Member Sentenced to 2 Years in Federal Prison for Firearm Possession

Spokane – William D. Hyslop, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Lukes Lorenzo Herrera, age 23, of Prosser, Washington, was sentenced today after having pleaded guilty on November 4, 2020, to Felon in Possession of a Firearm. United States District Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr. sentenced Herrera to a 2-year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison.

According to information disclosed during court proceedings, on April 10, 2020, patrol deputies from the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office responded to a two-vehicle collision on Waneta Road, Grandview, Washington. While on scene, officers learned that one of the individuals involved, subsequently identified as Herrera, a Bell Garden Locos (“BGL”) Sureno gang member, had requested that the police not be notified because he had a firearm and drugs in the car. Herrera fled the scene on foot after throwing what appeared to be a firearm into an adjacent canal. Shortly after retrieving the discarded firearm, deputies found Herrera hiding near a field and arrested him.

United States Attorney Hyslop said, “The prosecution of firearm-related crimes continues to be a priority for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington. If you unlawfully possess a firearm, we will hold you accountable and remove you from our streets.”

This case was prosecuted under the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program. PSN is a federal, state, and local law enforcement collaboration to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals responsible for violent crimes in our neighborhoods. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to specifically identify the criminals responsible for violent crime in the Eastern District of Washington and pursue criminal prosecution.

This case was investigated by the Yakima Resident Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Patrick J. Cashman, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.