SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a
three-count indictment Thursday against Darrel Kieth Higginbotham, 53, of Fernley,
Nevada, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S.
Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, on Feb. 28, Yuba County
Sheriff deputies responded to a report of a prowler attempting to enter a home
in Olivehurst. When deputies arrived, they found Higginbotham near the home. A
pat-down of Higginbotham revealed a .45-caliber handgun in his jacket pocket
that was cocked with the hammer back and loaded with one round in the chamber
and seven in the magazine.
Higginbotham had been convicted previously of violent
felonies and had a domestic violence restraining order against him. The
convictions and the restraining order prohibit his possession of firearms under
federal law.
In addition to the handgun, Higginbotham had 10 firearms,
including two short-barreled AR-15 rifles, a shotgun, and multiple handguns in
his truck. All of the firearms were loaded or had loaded ammunition magazines
nearby.
The following day, March 1, after Higginbotham was released
on bail, he visited a storage facility. After securing a search warrant,
deputies searched Higginbotham’s unit and found 15 additional firearms,
including another AR-15 rifle, three shotguns, and multiple handguns. Again,
deputies found most of the firearms loaded.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S.
Attorney James Conolly is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Higginbotham faces a maximum statutory penalty
of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count. 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.
This case is 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.
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