One Indicted, One Sentenced for Firearms Offenses in Sacramento and Fairfield

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As part the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California’s strategy to reduce violent crime by focusing on firearms prosecutions, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced an indictment and a recent sentencing involving illegal firearms offenses.

Tommy Walker, 43, of Sacramento, was charged today with being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, on Nov. 22, 2019, law enforcement officers found a Jimenez Arms .380 semi-automatic handgun in Walker’s bedroom. Walker has several prior felony convictions—including four prior felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm convictions—which prohibit him from possessing a firearm. This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, and the Sacramento Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron D. Pennekamp is prosecuting the case. (2:20-cr-039)

If convicted, Walker 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.

Jedidiah Nathaniel Smith, 40, of Fairfield, was sentenced on Feb. 10 to two years and six months in prison for possessing a firearm as a felon. Smith pleaded guilty in April 2019. According to court records, on Dec. 5, 2018, law enforcement officers stopped a car Smith was traveling in for having an expired registration. After the officers spoke with Smith, they learned that he had four outstanding warrants for his arrest. The officers asked Smith to get out of the car, and he complied, but when he got out of the car, Smith was carrying a loaded revolver in his waistband. Smith cannot lawfully possess firearms or ammunition because he has previously been convicted of five felony offenses. This case was the product of an investigation by the Suisun City Police Department, with special assistance from the FBI’s Solano County Violent Crimes Task Force and the Solano County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy H. Delgado prosecuted the case. (2:19-cr-039)

These cases are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.

The cases are also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see www.justice.gov/projectguardian.