Portland Gang Member Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegal Firearm Possession

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

Cocoa Dalonta Taplin, 27, of Fairview, Oregon, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.

According to court documents and testimony, as part of a federal racketeering investigation of the Hoover Criminal Gang, law enforcement obtained photos of Taplin, a convicted felon, holding and posing with two firearms. On April 6, 2021, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Taplin with illegally possessing a firearm. On April 16, 2021, federal agents arrested Taplin and executed a search warrant on his Fairview residence. On November 30, 2021, Taplin pleaded guilty.

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 is being 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.