Santa Rosa Gun Trafficker and Crips Gang Member Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 29, 2011 |
SAN FRANCISCO—Yohannes Tekie Gebrezgie was sentenced today to 151 months in prison for firearms trafficking, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.
Mr. Gebrezgie pleaded guilty on May 9, 2011, to trafficking in firearms, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. According to the plea agreement, Mr. Gebrezgie admitted to selling four firearms between October 19, 2010 and November 17, 2010. Those firearms included a Norinco Model 320 assault rifle that had been stolen from a Santa Rosa residence in April 2010, and three handguns, two of which were stolen or had the serial numbers obliterated from the firearm. Mr. Gebrezgie admitted that when he was arrested on December 1, 2010, he also possessed an AR-15 style assault rifle that had the serial number obliterated from the firearm. As part of his plea agreement, Mr. Gebrezgie admitted that he had previously been convicted of drug trafficking felonies in 2005 and 2006.
Mr. Gebrezgie, 26, of Santa Rosa, was charged by information on March 11, 2011 with trafficking firearms in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(a)(1), and being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1).
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston, and also includes a three-year period of supervised release, and a condition ordering Mr. Gebrezgie to not associate with any member of the Crips criminal street gang. The defendant has been in custody since his arrest on December 1, 2010.
The prosecution is the result of a five-month investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Santa Rosa Police Department and represents the ongoing cooperation between the United States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and local law enforcement, including the Santa Rosa Police Department, in reducing gun trafficking and gun violence. Derek Owens is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case.
Further Information:
Case #: CR 11-0112 SI
A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.