Portland Gang Associate Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison After Being Convicted on Federal Gun Charge

Defendant, an Armed Career Criminal, told the police he was “hunting” a rival

PORTLAND, Ore. – August 11, 2014, Eddie Ray Strickland, Jr., 35, of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after he was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and the Court finding that he qualified as an Armed Career Criminal. Following his federal prison sentence Strickland will be required to serve three years of supervised release, which includes a condition prohibiting the defendant from associating with any known gang members.

On July 27, 2011, the defendant, a multi-convicted felon, was arrested and found in possession of two loaded firearms that were located inside of his residence. Earlier that day, the Portland Police Bureau’s Gun Task Force received information that the defendant had been in numerous fights with his girlfriend and during the most recent altercation he held a gun to her head and said “[i]f you don’t shut up, I’ll kill you and everyone else in the house.” This incident occurred in front of her young children. Officers also received information that about a month prior to this incident the defendant had also threatened his girlfriend with a gun and then fired a shot in her direction which left a hole in the couch she was sitting on. The officers knew the defendant was a felon and thus prohibited from possessing a firearm. With this information officers applied for a state search warrant, which was granted. Later that day, officers executed the search warrant on the defendant’s residence located on NE 49th Avenue, Portland, Oregon.

During the execution of the warrant by the Portland Police Bureau Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT), officers found two loaded firearms, a Kel-Tec .380 caliber handgun and a Taurus .40 caliber handgun, inside a crawl space under the stairs.

After he was arrested, Portland Police Detectives with the Gang Enforcement Team interviewed the defendant. During the interview the defendant admitted that the two firearms were his and that he had the guns for “protection.” When the detectives asked why he needed the guns for “protection,” the defendant told the detectives that he and another person have both been looking for each other and they want to shoot each other. The defendant believed the other individual killed his brother in a gang shooting so the defendant was “hunting” him in an effort to try and kill him or the person’s brother. The other individual knew this, and according to the defendant, the other individual had been trying to kill the defendant before the defendant gets to him. Thus, as the defendant told the detectives, he needed the guns for “protection.” The defendant also said he had two guns so he could carry one and leave the other in the house.

The defendant was indicted in federal court on August 10, 2011, for felon in possession of a firearm and pled guilty to the charge on October 16, 2013. At the time the defendant possessed the firearms he had previously been convicted of, and received state prison sentences for, the following felony crimes:

    Attempted Robbery in the First Degree, in 2005;

    Attempted Robbery in the First Degree, in 2005;

    Unlawful Possession of Firearm in the First Degree, in 1999; and,

    Robbery in the Third Degree, in 1998.

“When Congress passed the Armed Career Criminal Act, the defendant was exactly the type of criminal it had in mind – an individual who repeatedly engages in violent felonies and places the community at substantial risk of harm,” noted U.S. Attorney S. Amanda Marshall. “When a batterer has a gun, the risk of intimate partner homicide is increased more than five times than in instances where there are no weapons. Quite simply, without police intervention, this defendant was a homicide waiting to happen. This lengthy prison sentence protects the public from this defendant and also sends a strong message of deterrence to violent felons that they will pay a steep price for unlawfully possessing firearms.”

This case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau’s Gun Task Force, Portland Police Bureau’s Gang Enforcement Team, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Scott Kerin, the Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Drug Unit and former head of the Gang and Sex Trafficking Prosecution Team.

Caldwell Man Sentenced to 60 Months for Possessing a Sawed-Off Shotgun

BOISE – Anthony Michael Payment, 21, of Caldwell, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 60 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possessing an unregistered firearm, a sawed-off shotgun, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Payment to forfeit the firearm and ammunition involved in the offense.

According to information presented in court, on August 19, 2013, officers responded to a residence in Nampa after learning that Payment threatened another person with the sawed-off shotgun. Nampa Police Department officers found the sawed-off shotgun at the residence, and Payment was arrested a short time later. The firearm Payment possessed was a Bay State, 20-gauge sawed-off shotgun with a barrel less than twelve inches in length. The National Firearms Act requires such a shotgun to be registered in the National Firearm Registration and Transfer Record if the barrel is less than eighteen inches in length. Payment had no firearms registered to him in the Record.

The case was investigated by the Idaho Department of Probation and Parole, the Nampa Police Department, the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Metro Task Force is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Boise Police Department; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Caldwell Police Department; Nampa Police Department; Meridian Police Department; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; and Idaho Department of Probation and Parole.

Payment was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional 2

coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.

Florida Resident Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison For Violent Crimes Linked To Debt Dispute

Defendant Torched One House and Attempted to Bomb Another to Collect Debt

A Florida resident who threatened family members over a $20,000 debt and used firebombs to torch one home and threaten another, was sentenced today to fifteen years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. SANG NGOC UNG, 54, of Margate, Florida pleaded guilty in April 2014 to Collection of Extension of Credit by Extortionate Means, Interstate Travel in Aid of Racketeering Activity, Unlawful Possession of a Destructive Device and Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence. In his plea agreement UNG admits that in the early morning hours of June 10, 2013 he set fire to his relative’s home on S. Cloverdale Street in Seattle. The fire extensively damaged the home and forced the homeowner, her adult children and a friend to flee through a window and the garage. Shortly after that fire, investigators went to a second home associated with the family and discovered a destructive device that had not ignited. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones imposed the sentence.

“This defendant earned every day of this sentence. He attempted to rule his victims through fear and violence,” said U. S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “He endangered not just his targeted victims, but those who live nearby and all first responders.”

According to records in the case, UNG had been pressuring family members in Seattle about $20,000 he believes is owed to him. Family members had attempted to pay some of the money, but UNG reportedly continued to threaten them if the debt was not paid. In mid-May 2013, UNG arrived in the Seattle area and again began pressuring the family to repay the debt. On June 9, 2013, UNG was observed attempting to contact people at both homes. The fire and the destructive device that failed to ignite were discovered the next day. Cell phone records place UNG in the Seattle area during the time the fire and destructive device were set. Evidence on the destructive device ties him to the scene. UNG returned to the Seattle area in July 2013 and was arrested by Seattle Police and ATF agents. At the time of his arrest UNG had a firearm in his possession and admits that he was armed during the criminal conduct in this case.

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg.

Providence Landlord Ordered Detained in Federal Custody Charged with Allegedly Setting Fire to an Occupied Tenement to Collect Insurance Payments

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – An investigation by the Providence Fire Department Arson Squad, the Providence Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) into an early morning fire on July 23, 2014, that caused significant damage to an occupied three family tenement at 346 Admiral Street in Providence, has resulted in the arrest and detention of the building’s owner, Rony Metellus, 51, of Providence. It is alleged that Metellus set fire to the building in order to collect insurance payments.

Metellus, arrested on Thursday and held overnight in federal custody, made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court today on a charge of arson of a building used in interstate commerce. Metellus was ordered detained by U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan.

The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fire and the arrest of Rony Metellus is announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha, Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven M. Paré and Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Division of ATF.

According to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant for Metellus filed with the court, it is alleged that in the early morning hours of July 23, Providence firefighters were called to extinguish a fire in a three-story, wood frame, residential building at 346 Admiral Street. The building sustained heavy damage. Three adults and three children were living in a first floor apartment at the time of the fire. The second and third floors had recently been vacated.

According to the affidavit, an investigation by the Providence Fire Department Arson Squad determined that the cause of the fire was the result of an unknown person or persons intentionally igniting the fire with combustible materials.

According to the affidavit, surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed a vehicle similar to one owned by Rony Metellus allegedly pull up and park on Admiral Street in close proximity to his rental property. A person fitting Metellus’ description is seen in the video walking toward 346 Admiral Street and then returning to the vehicle eight minutes later, shortly before fire apparatus were called for a report of a fire at 346 Admiral Street. The video shows the vehicle was immediately turned around and driven from the area without the headlights turned on.

According to the affidavit, additional surveillance videos obtained from a property near the defendant’s residence allegedly show Rony Metellus leaving his house shortly before the fire is reported and then returning. A review of the video demonstrates that sufficient time passed to have allowed Metellus to have travelled to Admiral Street, started a fire and returned home. Another video allegedly shows a vehicle fitting the description of the defendant’s traveling on the same street on which he resides, at approximately the same time fire apparatus are responding to or have already responded to the fire. Metellus’ residence is less than one mile from his rental property at 346 Admiral Street.

According to the affidavit, the investigation revealed that shortly after the fire Metellus allegedly hired a public adjuster to represent him in filing an insurance claim for damages to 346 Admiral Street. Records indicate a claim was filed with the insurer, Lloyd’s of London. The defendant’s claim was filed through a local insurance agency.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Ferland.

Waterbury Man Charged With Illegal Gun Possession

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that a federal grand jury sitting in New Haven returned an indictment today charging CHRISTOPHER BYAN COLEMAN, 25, of Waterbury, with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

As alleged in the complaint that was previously filed in this case, on April 22, 2014, officers from the Waterbury Police Department responded to a complaint of a disturbance at 1298 N. Main Street in Waterbury. There, the complainant told police that her car had broken down and, while she was awaiting assistance, a male had attempted to gain entry to her vehicle. As one of the officers drove up to the male, who was later identified as COLEMAN, the officer observed COLEMAN remove a firearm from his waist area and throw it over a chain link fence. Officers then recovered an RG14 .22 caliber revolver with an obliterated serial number, loaded with six rounds, three of which were live and three of which were expended.

Prior to that date, it is alleged that COLEMAN had sustained felony convictions. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

If convicted, COLEMAN faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000 in fines. He has been detained since his arrest on April 22.

This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Waterbury Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony E. Kaplan.

U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.