Armed Career Criminal Indicted for Unlawful Possession of Firearm

FRESNO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against Shyheim Jetton, 31, of Fresno, charging him with being an armed career criminal in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, Jetton unlawfully possessed a firearm in that he is prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions. Undercover Fresno Police Department officers located Jetton, who had ducked inside a convenience store when uniformed officers came to arrest him. Inside the store, Jetton had hidden a backpack behind a freezer; the backpack contained a 9mm Taurus handgun and 23 rounds of 9mm ammunition.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Veneman-Hughes is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Jetton a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, as well as 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 Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

This case is also 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.