Arizona man sentenced to 14 months
Berkeley native illegally sold guns without a license
A Berkeley native who allegedly bought guns in Arizona and Texas and illegally sold them to Californians has been sentenced to 14 months in federal prison, court records show.
Kamar Ferguson, 28, reported to prison to begin his sentence on July 17, according to court records.
Ferguson pleaded guilty to dealing firearms without a license and other federal offenses related to the sale of guns through the mail, but the sentence was left up to U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr., according to court records. Prosecutors asked for a 21-month prison term, alleging that Gilliam took advantage of impoverished people by using them as straw purchasers, and robbed a woman of a firearm.
The defense asked for a six-month prison term, arguing that Ferguson had endured a series of personal tragedies and that he already “has been rehabilitated.”
“A lengthy prison sentence is not necessary for someone like Mr. Ferguson who has never served any time in custody beyond the two days he served in jail for a misdemeanor conviction in 2016,” Karen McConville, Ferguson's lawyer, wrote in a sentencing memo. “Throughout his life he has shown he is capable of better and given the chance he will again.”
According to federal prosecutors, Ferguson sold “dozens” of guns during a 10-month period starting in July 2021. He initially mailed them, but after agents intercepted one package containing guns, he started driving them from his home in Arizona to California. He was arrested in March 2022 by the California Highway Patrol in Dublin, who reportedly found 31 magazines and three pistols in his car.
After Kamar Ferguson learned that two of his straw purchasers had given a statement to federal investigators, he allegedly pulled over to the side of the road and dropped them off, calling them “snitches” who needed to “get the f— out of my car,” according to prosecutors. The two Arizona residents were left stranded in California with no way to get back home, authorities said.
Kamar Ferguson's father, Gary Ferguson, was killed in 2010, and he's recently lost two other loved ones. His best friend, Emani Flenoid, 25, was shot and killed in Antioch in January. His cousin, Laketha HumphreyMcCowan, was shot and killed on Interstate 580 in February, allegedly after her husband pulled over and dropped her off on the freeway during an argument, then went home and reported her missing, according to court records.