Convicted Felon Sentenced to 60 Months Prison for Drug and Gun Crime

BOISE – Shaun McNabb, 35, of Boise, Idaho, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and unlawful possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.  Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered McNabb to serve three years of supervised release following his release from prison.  McNabb was convicted by a federal jury on March 11, 2016.

According to the evidence presented at trial, in the early morning hours of December 25, 2014, Boise Police officers observed McNabb driving in Boise.  Officers ran the status of the registered owner and determined that McNabb was the registered owner of the vehicle and had a suspended driver’s license.  The officers followed McNabb and observed him pull into the parking lot of a closed business and then into the parking lot of a bar.  After several minutes, officers observed McNabb’s vehicle drive down the road followed closely by a second vehicle.  Officers continued to follow the vehicles and observed that the second vehicle begin to drive erratically and the driver seemed to be trying to draw the officers’ attention away from McNabb.  Officers ultimately initiated a traffic stop at a gas station on McNabb’s vehicle after observing a turn signal violation.  McNabb parked in the parking lot of a gas station and before the officers could exit their patrol vehicles, McNabb had already exited and locked his vehicle, and refused an officer’s repeated commands to get back into it.  McNabb was placed under arrest for driving without privileges and resisting and obstructing officers.  Because of McNabb’s behavior and driving pattern, a drug dog was called to the scene to perform an exterior sniff of the vehicle.  The dog later gave a positive alert for the presence of drugs within the vehicle.  The vehicle was searched and officers located a grey backpack in the trunk.  Inside the backpack officers found a 45 caliber handgun, a magazine containing ten 45 caliber rounds, one loose 45 caliber round, a digital scale, and two large vacuum sealed bags containing more than one pound of marijuana.  McNabb had previously been convicted of a felony and therefore was prohibited from possessing firearms.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Boise Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes.  The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth.  For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.