Man gets 30 months in federal gun case that followed release on $0 bail

OAKLAND >> A Bay Area man who was prosecuted federally after the Alameda County Sheriff publicly blasted the decision to release him on $0 bail amid the pandemic was sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison, court records show.

Kristopher Sylvester, 35, was charged last June with being a felon in possession of a firearm, after being released on state charges of allegedly burglarizing a Hertz car rental business in Fremont. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White earlier this month.

Sylvester’s case was highlighted by the Alameda County Sheriff’s office, one of many the office labeled a “Zero Bail Fail” in its push back against releasing people from Santa Rita Jail despite the pandemic. At the time, coronavirus cases were spiking in the jail, prompting regular quarantines and a countywide push by superior court judges to reduce the jail’s population.

Both prosecutors and the defense agreed to the 30-month term. In a sentencing memo, Sylvester’s attorney wrote that he “never had a chance” and that he’s been stuck in jail for months “during a global pandemic.”

“Emulating the behavior he saw in his parents, (Sylvester) turned to drugs and alcohol at a young age, trying marijuana for the first time when he was 9 years old, alcohol when he was 10 and methamphetamine when he was 13 years old,” his attorney wrote in court records.

Federa l prosecutors, meanwhile, highlighted Sylvester’s alleged crime spree that led to the federal charge. He was arrested in connection with a burglary at a Hertz car rental business in Fremont on April 2, and a gun was allegedly found in his possession. After being released from Santa Rita Jail, Sylvester was arrested again on April 16, after officers responded to a burglary at Hana’s Bottle Shop in Santa Clara.

After leading police on a chase in what turned out to be a Ford Mustang stolen from Hertz, Sylvester was arrested on suspicion of evading officers. Once again, he was released from county jail. A week later, he was re-arrested in San Francisco. Police found a loaded gun and items “related to several burglaries in the San Francisco Bay Area,” according to the criminal complaint.