California Man Sentenced to 53 Months for Illegally Possessing Firearms

ABINGDON, Va.- A California man, who had been on the run from law enforcement for five years before being found illegally possessing firearms last February, was sentenced this week to 53 months in federal prison, Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar announced today.

Zeafree Zekkariyas, 30, a.k.a. Jorden Johnson, pleaded guilty in August 2020 to one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on February 18, 2019 law enforcement was engaged in a manhunt for a suspect in an attempted-murder case not involving Zekkariyas. As part of that manhunt, officers conducted surveillance on an apartment in Bluefield, Virginia. Late on the night of February 18, 2020, an investigator with the Bluefield Police Department observed a male, who fit the description of the wanted suspect, exiting the apartment. 

The man, later identified as Zekkariyas, left the scene in an unlicensed vehicle with no headlights.  The investigator followed the car, found it parked at another resident, and knocked on the door.  Once located inside, Zekkariyas admitted to law enforcement that the vehicle outside the residence was his, that he had driven there, and that he was wanted on an outstanding warrant.  Zekkariyas, a felon, was taken into custody at that time on the outstanding warrant.

Officers obtained a search warrant for the car. Inside they recovered a .40 caliber magazine, a box of .410 shells, a .410 shotgun, a stolen AR15 rifle, AR15 ammunition, and other rounds of ammunition. 

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, the Bluefield Police Department, and the Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorneys Cagle Juhan and Whit D. Pierce prosecuted the case for the United States.