Fresno Man Charged with Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Darren Duane Coleman, 24, of Fresno, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, during a traffic stop, police officers observed Coleman reaching up in the area of the sunroof of the car that he was driving. Officers subsequently located a loaded firearm tucked in a pocket behind the car’s sunroof. Coleman is a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fresno Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Schuh is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Coleman faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.