United States Attorney Announces Two Sentencings on Project Safe Neighborhood Cases

R. Trent Shores, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma, announced two sentencings on Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) cases.  PSN is the Justice Department’s national initiative to reduce violent crime, particularly gun violence.  It is a results-oriented, collaborative approach to public safety that utilizes law enforcement, community partnerships, and strategic enforcement to focus on the most violent criminals in the most violent areas within each district.  “This office is committed to working with our law enforcement and community partners to prevent and deter violent offenders from possessing firearms in the Northern District of Oklahoma,” said United States Attorney Shores.

JERRY LEE NICHOLS

On October 10, 2017, Chief United States District Court Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Jerry Lee Nichols, 47, of Pryor, Oklahoma, to 52 months of imprisonment for the crime of Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition.  On April 15, 2017, Mayes County Sheriff’s Deputies were searching for Nichols after his girlfriend reported him for domestic violence.  Deputies tracked Nichols to a home in Locust Grove, Oklahoma, and found Nichols hiding underneath a pile of clothes inside a playpen.  Deputies found a loaded derringer underneath Nichols and a shotgun hidden underneath a couch in the room within which Nichols was hiding.  In addition to the term of imprisonment, Chief Judge Frizzell sentenced Nichols to 3 years of supervised release upon completion of imprisonment.  Assistant United States Attorney Neal C. Hong prosecuted the case, which the Mayes County Sheriff’s Office investigated.

JESUS DELANO MENDOZA

On October 10, 2017, Chief United States District Court Judge Gregory K. Frizzell also sentenced Jesus Delano Mendoza, 34, of Phoenix, Arizona, to 114 months of imprisonment for Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition and Brandishing a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence.  On April 22, 2017, Mendoza robbed a convenience store in North Tulsa.  Mendoza entered the store with a mask, brandished a firearm at the clerk, and took money and other items from the store.  Five days later, the United States Marshal Service’s Violent Crimes Task Force tracked Mendoza to a home in Tulsa and apprehended him.  During the arrest, Deputy Marshals found a loaded .22 caliber revolver in the area Mendoza was found.  In addition to the term of imprisonment, Chief Judge Frizzell sentenced Mendoza to 5 years of supervised release upon completion of imprisonment.  Assistant United States Attorney Neal C. Hong prosecuted the case.  The Tulsa Police Department, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Marshal Service’s Violent Crimes Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives jointly investigated the case.