Bakersfield Man Pleads Guilty To Being A Felon In Possession Of A Firearm

FRESNO, Calif. — Vincent Deleon, 33, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

On November 6, 2013, the FBI’s Violent Crime Task Force received information that Deleon, who was wanted on two Kern County felony warrants, was in an apartment on Monterey Street in Bakersfield. Task force agents set up surveillance and when Deleon came out of the residence, they identified themselves and told him to stop. Deleon immediately fled from the agents and in his flight, threw a Smith & Wesson 9 mm pistol over a fence. Agents were able to apprehend Deleon and also recover the firearm from the adjacent property.

This case is the product of a joint investigation by members of the Violent Crime Task Force, which include the Kern County Sheriff’s Department, the Kern County Probation Office and the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Brian K. Delaney is prosecuting the case.

Deleon is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge O’Neill on March 9, 2015. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison. 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.