Sacramento Men Indicted in Three Federal Cases for Drug and Firearm Offenses

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Thanks to the efforts of federal and local law enforcement working together, over the course of the past week three federal indictments have been brought against Sacramento defendants Jose Manuel Hernandez, Michael Rojas Jr., and Gabriel Reyes Hernandez, charging each of them with illegal possession of firearms. This announcement was made by United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Riehl, and Sacramento Police Chief Sam Somers.

The Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative (PSN) brings together federal, state and local law enforcement to combat gun and gang crime. At the core of PSN is increased federal prosecution to incapacitate chronic violent offenders as well as to communicate a credible deterrent threat to potential gun offenders.

Jose Manuel Hernandez, 30, was charged with possessing a firearm after previously being convicted of a felony, and in addition with possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine, cultivating marijuana, and possessing with intent to distribute marijuana.(Docket # 2:14-cr-122 JAM) Michael Rojas Jr., 24, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. (Docket # 2:14-cr-134 JAM) Gabriel Reyes Hernandez, 27, was charged with being a felon in possession of a .40 caliber Glock 23 pistol with an obliterated serial number. (Docket # 2:14-cr-129 JAM)

These cases are the product of investigations by the Sacramento Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael McCoy and Justin Lee are prosecuting the cases.

If convicted on the firearm offenses, each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.