FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Cesar Castro, 41, of Modesto, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, and a one‑count indictment against Juan Dimas, 31, of Modesto, charging him with being a felon in possession of ammunition, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, on June 1, Castro was arrested in Modesto in possession of a loaded firearm. On May 20, Dimas was arrested in Modesto after discarding a loaded firearm during a police chase. Both men are convicted felons prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition, and both men were serving terms of post-release community supervision following firearms convictions at the time of their arrest on these charges.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, and the Modesto Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Schuh is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Castro and Dimas each face 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 defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/video/psa-national-center-disaster-fraud
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