Ismail J. Ramsey, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California
Darneko Yates, a 30-year-old resident of Richmond, California, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for illegal firearm possession. The ruling was delivered by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín. Yates was found guilty of this charge following a one-day bench trial held on January 17, 2025.
The incident in question took place on August 27, 2023, when police officers stopped Yates for a traffic violation. It was discovered that Yates hid a loaded automatic handgun in the pants of his six-year-old nephew, who was in the backseat of his car along with his niece. At that time, Yates was on parole after three felony convictions, including carjacking and solicitation to commit murder.
In addition to his prison sentence, Yates was ordered to serve three years of supervised release. The case was announced by Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani.
This prosecution is connected to Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a coordinated effort by law enforcement to reduce violent crime and enhance community safety. The initiative, bolstered by a Department of Justice strategy launched on May 26, 2021, aims to build community trust, support violence prevention organizations, prioritize strategic enforcement, and assess the program's impact.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leif Dautch and Richard Ewenstein, following an investigation led by the FBI in cooperation with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office and the San Pablo Police Department.
