Senior Hoover Criminal Gang Member Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing a Firearm

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

Eugene Michael Brown, 39, aka “Big Truth,” was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, as part of an ongoing federal racketeering investigation of the Hoover Criminal Gang, law enforcement obtained photos online of Brown, a convicted felon, posing with other known Hoover members. 

On the evening spanning May 21 and 22, 2022, Brown, who at the time was on post-prison supervision, and several other Hoover members went to an adult club in northwest Portland. Shortly after Brown’s arrival at the club, a physical fight broke out. The fight, between Hoover members and other patrons, spilled out into the club’s parking lot and shots were fired. Video surveillance showed Brown leave the club with a gun and head toward his vehicle. Brown is not believed to have fired any gunshots during this incident. He and four other Hoover members were later charged in Multnomah County Circuit Court for their involvement in the altercation. 

Two weeks later, on July 6, 2022, Brown and his girlfriend got into an argument at a gas station on Northeast Broadway Street in Portland and investigators located a 9mm shell casing at the scene. Two days later, investigators executed a search warrant on Brown’s residence and located two 9mm firearms as well as Hoover related clothing, writing, drawings, and photos consistent with Brown’s continued membership in the gang. Lab tests later confirmed Brown’s DNA was present on both firearms.

On November 2, 2022, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Brown with illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. On June 16, 2023, he pleaded guilty to the single charge.

This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Portland Police Bureau, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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.

This prosecution is the result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the U.S. by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.