Feds sentence man to four years in prison for illegally possessing firearm

A federal judge in Sacramento on Thursday sentenced a 26-year-old Vallejo man to four years and three months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, Department of Justice officials said.

Joshua Wayne Thompson heard the terms of his punishment from U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott said in a press release.

According to court documents, on Nov. 18, 2019, law enforcement officers arrested Thompson on multiple felony warrants.

Before the arrest, officers saw Thompson leave a home in Vallejo and approached him, but he then ran toward and entered the driver’s side door of a Ford Fusion. While attempting to flee, Thompson rammed the Ford into a Deputy U.S. Marshal’s vehicle. Afterward, officers placed him under arrest.

At the time of his arrest, Thompson possessed a loaded pistol with a 25-round extended magazine. Under the law, he cannot possess a firearm or ammunition because he previously was convicted of a felony.

Assistant U. S. Attorney Matthew Thuesen prosecuted the case, which stemmed from an investigation by the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the California Highway Patrol.

Also, the case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

The case also is apart of Project Guardian, the DOJ’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence, Scott noted in the prepared statement.