Oakland Resident Sentenced To Over Seven Years In Prison For Being A Felon In Possession Of A Firearm

OAKLAND – Alberto Acosta was sentenced to 86 months in prison today for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder.  The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Jon S. Tigar, United States District Judge, following Acosta’s entry of a guilty plea on June 23, 2017.    

As part of his plea agreement, Acosta, 31, of Oakland, admitted that on August 12, 2016, he ran from police when they approached him and that while he was running, he threw 12 Ziploc bags, each partially filled with methamphetamine, over a fence. Acosta further admitted he had been driving a stolen car and that, after his arrest, police recovered a pistol from the driver’s side pocket of the car. The pistol had eight rounds in the magazine and one round in the chamber.  In addition, Acosta admitted that police found his backpack containing two additional .45 caliber extended magazines in the rear seat of the car.  One magazine was filled with 15 rounds and the other with 14 rounds of ammunition.  Also in the backpack were additional rounds of ammunition, two glass pipes, additional Ziploc bags, and a pocket sized digital scale.  

A federal grand jury indicted Acosta on January 12, 2017, charging him with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).  Pursuant to his plea agreement, Acosta pleaded guilty to the charge.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Tigar also sentenced Acosta to a three-year period of supervised release to commence after Acosta completes his prison sentence.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina McCall and Erin Cornell are prosecuting the case with assistance from Vanessa Quant and Katie Turner.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the ATF and the Oakland Police Department.