SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against Eric Terrell Christian, 31, of Vacaville, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, on July 21, 2022, Christian failed to yield during an attempted law enforcement traffic stop and sped away from the officer. Moments after this evasion, a witness called 911 and reported seeing a firearm in a parking lot Christian had just driven through. On Aug. 11, 2022, officers attempted to stop Christian; he fled on foot from his car but was quickly apprehended. In his vehicle, officers located a Glock handgun with a round in the chamber and another 17 rounds in an inserted high-capacity magazine. Officers subsequently searched the apartment in this complex that Christian had access to and located a Palmetto Arms AR-style pistol with a round in the chamber and 40 rounds in an inserted, high-capacity magazine. Christian is not allowed to possess firearms because he has previously been convicted of three felony offenses, including two convictions for assault with a deadly weapon. Christian was on parole from his second assault conviction when he committed the current offenses.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Vacaville Police Department, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation – Division of Adult Parole Operations, the Solano County District Attorney’s Office, the FBI’s Solano County Violent Crimes Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Christian faces a maximum statutory penalty of 15 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.
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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.