Police sending gun crimes to feds

New practice pursues harsher sentences for violent offenders, hoping to keep criminals off streets longer

SAN JOSE >> In what the region’s top FBI official said could serve as a model for other agencies, San Jose police are sending more gun crimes to federal court to obtain harsher sentences for violent offenders they say benefit from soft spots created by California’s criminal-justice reforms.

Under the new approach, believed to be the only one of its kind in the state, San Jose detectives, working with local prosecutors and the FBI, will more routinely consider certain crimes when a gun is used — regardless of whether it’s fired — for federal prosecution. At the federal level, mandatory minimum sentences are significantly longer and are served in out-of-state detention facilities.

“There are loopholes in the (state) system,” San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia said. “There are individuals released back into our communities arrested with loaded handguns or selling large quantities of meth. If federal agents can help us take these criminals off the street, we’re going to use that tool.”

The new strategy centers on four specific crimes: armed robberies, armed carjackings, felons arrested for possessing handguns, and drug trafficking.

Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen, whose office normally prosecutes these cases, is on board with the new tactic and notes his team already huddles with federal prosecutors over where cases should be tried.

“We view gun crimes very seriously. With felons who possess loaded guns, I consider that a violent crime because of the potential for serious harm,” Rosen said. “If we don’t think we’ll get an appropriate sentence in state court, we’ll seek an appropriate sentence in federal court.”