East Palo Alto Man Convicted of Federal Gun Charge
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 20, 2011 |
SAN FRANCISCO—Mark Jenkins, Jr. was convicted of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g) by a federal jury yesterday, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.
The jury found that Jenkins, a previously convicted felon, had unlawfully possessed a firearm. The guilty verdict followed a two-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey S. White.
Evidence at trial showed that Jenkins, 32, of East Palo Alto, Calif., possessed the firearm in East Palo Alto when he was approached by two Menlo Park Police Detectives on Oct. 16, 2010. Jenkins immediately fled from the detectives and was observed pulling the firearm from his waistband as he ran. He was apprehended after a short foot chase and the firearm was located nearby. DNA evidence presented at trial indicated that Jenkins had possessed the firearm and the likelihood that another person had that same DNA profile was 1 in 33 quintillion.
The prosecution of Jenkins represents the ongoing cooperation between the United States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and local law enforcement, including the Menlo Park Police Department and the East Palo Alto Police Department, in reducing gun violence in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto.
The sentencing of Jenkins, who is currently released on a secured bond, is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2010, before Judge Jeffrey S. White in San Francisco. The maximum statutory penalty for each count in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g) is 10 years and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Derek Owens and S. Waqar Hasib are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Ponly Tu and Yanira Osorio. The prosecution is the result of a six-month investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Menlo Park Police Department.
Further Information:
Case #: CR 10-0882 JSW
A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.