Former Portland Gang Member Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegal Firearm Possession

PORTLAND, Ore.—A former member of Portland’s Hoover Criminal Gang was sentenced to federal prison today for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Javontae Nabien Gibson, 28, of Portland, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, as part of a federal racketeering investigation of the Hoover Criminal Gang, law enforcement obtained photos Gibson, a convicted felon, was posting online as advertisements for the sale of firearms and drugs. In August 2020, investigators executed a search warrant on Gibson’s northeast Portland apartment. They found and seized six handguns, two rifles, more than a dozen magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and approximately $5,000 in cash.

On August 19, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Gibson with illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. On November 15, 2021, he pleaded guilty to the single charge.

U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, Gresham Police Department, and FBI. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is 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.