Press Release
☷Federal Firearms Charges Brought Against Six Fresno Residents Arrested in Operation No Fly Zone
Federal Bureau of Investigation ( By Press Release office)
Apr 29,2022
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Federal Firearms Charges Brought Against 6 Fresno Residents Arrested in Operation No Fly Zone FRESNO , Calif . — A federal grand jury returned four indictments today against six Fresno residents as a result of Operation No Fly Zone that sought to address a rise in the number of shootings and homicides in Fresno , U . S . Attorney Phillip A . Talbert announced . The multi - agency , months - long investigation resulted in the arrests of over 40 individuals , including six federal defendants . Fresno residents Patrick Anthony Feaster , 23 , and Marcus Rashad Newton , 24 , are charged in one indictment with one count each of being a felon in possession of a firearm . Both have prior felony convictions and are prohibited from possessing firearms . Donald Ray Phelps Jr . , 28 , of Fresno , is charged with being a felon in possession of ammunition . He has a felony conviction for conspiracy to commit pandering in Orange County and is prohibited from possessing ammunition . Reginald Keith Cannon Jr . , 24 , of Fresno , is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm . He has prior felony convictions involving firearms offenses and is prohibited from possessing a firearm . Fresno residents Taylor Washington , 21 , and his mother Jawana Washington , 42 , are charged in one indictment . Taylor is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and Jawana is charged with aiding and abetting a felon’s possession of a firearm when she provided Taylor with a 9 mm handgun , knowing that he had been convicted of two felonies involving firearms offenses and was prohibited from possessing a firearm . According to court documents , on March 16 , 2022 , investigators gained information that Newton and Feaster would be meeting at a residence in Fresno so that Newton could provide Feaster with a firearm and an extended magazine . Investigators observed the meetup , and shortly after Feaster left the residence , officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Feaster’s car . Feaster failed to yield , bailed out of the car with a bag , and fled on foot . After a chase , officers arrested Feaster and seized the bag from him . Inside the bag , officers found a semi - automatic handgun with an extended magazine . On March 18 , 2022 , investigators learned about the presence of a firearm inside a car in which Phelps was a passenger . Officers conducted a traffic stop on the car , and during a search of the car , under the seat where Phelps had been sitting , officers found a loaded , privately manufactured , semi - automatic handgun with no serial number . On March 23 , 2022 , investigators received information that Cannon was in possession of a firearm at the Fashion Fair Mall . Officers reported to the mall , where they found Cannon , a parolee , and conducted a parole - compliance check on him . During a search of his person , officers found a loaded semi - automatic firearm with an extended magazine attached . On March 25 , 2022 , Jawana Washington loaned a firearm to Taylor Washington . Officers conducted a traffic stop on Taylor Washington’s car , searched it , and found the firearm in the center console . These cases are the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation , Homeland Security Investigations , the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms , and Explosives , the Fresno Police Department , the Fresno - area Multi - Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium ( MAGEC ) , the California Department of Justice Special Operations Unit , the California Department of Justice Human Trafficking / Sexual Predator Apprehension Team , the California Highway Patrol , the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office , the Kings County Sheriff’s Office , the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation , and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office . Assistant U . S . Attorneys Antonio J . Pataca , Justin J . Gilio , and Kimberly A . Sanchez are prosecuting the cases . If convicted , the defendants 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 defendant is 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 . This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces ( OCDETF ) operation . OCDETF identifies , disrupts , and dismantles the highest - level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor - led , intelligence - driven , multi - agency approach . Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www . justice . gov/OCDETF .
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