Bakersfield Man Indicted for Receipt of Grenades
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 22, 2011 |
FRESNO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that a federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging John Mendoza, 24, of Bakersfield, with unlawful receipt of explosive material.
According to the indictment, on December 17, 2011, Morales knowingly received two grenades, and he did not have a license or permit to receive such explosives.
Mendoza is scheduled to be arraigned on December 28, 2011 in Fresno. He is in custody.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Duce Rice is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Morales faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will 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 and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.