Seattle gang member with history of gun violence sentenced to prison for illegal firearm possession

Seattle - A long-time member of a south Seattle street gang was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to four years in prison, and three years of supervised release, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Samuel N. Rezene, 38, has a lengthy criminal history involving drug trafficking, promoting prostitution and firearms. Rezene was the target of multiple shooting incidents including one in February 2012, when Rezene's then girlfriend was shot and killed while riding in the car Rezene was driving. At the sentencing hearing today U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said "As far as I can tell, this defendant wants to be taken out of society…. You don't get a Glock 9 to protect yourself, you get that to be back in the trade."

"Less than three months after his release from a 92-month prison sentence, Mr. Rezene again had a firearm, drove dangerously, crashed his car in a high crime area, and fled from police," said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller. "The only thing that stops his criminal conduct is time behind prison bars. This sentence is necessary for community safety."

According to records filed in the case, Rezene was 83 days into his term of federal supervised release, when he crashed his parents' car on Aurora Avenue North in Seattle and fled the scene, leaving a firearm in the car. Rezene was ultimately arrested and indicted for unlawful possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty on May 30, 2025.

The firearm that Rezene left in the crashed car had his DNA on the magazine that was in the pistol. Analysis of the bullets fired by the gun reveal that it is linked to four shots fired incidents that occurred before Rezene was released from federal prison for a May 2017 conviction. The firearm is also tied to a September 3, 2023, homicide that occurred in Seattle's Holly Park neighborhood a few weeks after Rezene was released from prison.

Rezene has a lengthy history of being involved with gun violence. In 2011 and 2013, Rezene and one or more associates were involved in two different drug robberies of rival gangsters. In retaliation for these robberies, Rezene, his home and vehicles were repeatedly the targets of drive-by shootings. In retaliation, Rezene's associates shot up a business associated with the rival gang. On May 15, 2014, Rezene was shot multiple times while at a gas station in Renton. Rezene grabbed a gun from the center console of his car and attempted to return fire and then collapsed. Rezene was taken to Harborview Medical Center and survived the shooting. His assailant has never been found.

Even after the May 2014 shooting at the gas station, Rezene continued his violent ways. After being released from the hospital, law enforcement spotted him shooting at a business associated with a rival gang in October 2014. Rezene was sentenced to 31 months in state custody for a related firearms offense. He was charged federally in December 2014 and was found guilty at a bench trial in May 2017 and was sentenced to the 92-month prison sentence.

Rezene has multiple felony convictions, including convictions for drug trafficking, illegal firearms possession, promoting prostitution, and attempting to elude a police vehicle. These convictions as well as his federal convictions prohibit him from possessing a firearm.

In asking for a sentence at the top of the guidelines range Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg wrote to the court, "The federal firearms statutes exist for the purpose of keeping firearms out of the hands of people like Samuel Rezene. Rezene has lived a reckless and dangerous lifestyle as a gang member and drug dealer. His commission of two drug robberies set off a violent chain of events that ultimately led to him being shot at the Shell station in 2014."

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department with assistance from the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg.