Source: United States Department of Justice News
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Raymond Uribe, 34, of Sanger, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Uribe was a passenger in a car that fled from officers who were trying to stop it for vehicle code violations. The car eventually hit another vehicle and lost control. As the car came to a stop, Uribe threw a 9 mm Sig Sauer handgun from the car. At the time of the offense, Uribe was on supervision for a prior felon in possession of a firearm conviction and was aware he was prohibited from possessing firearms.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Sanger Police Department and the Multi‑Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (M.A.G.E.C.). Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurel J. Montoya is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Uribe faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.