May 30, 2023 - FRESNO, Calif. — Patrick Feaster, 23, of Fresno, was sentenced today to three years and five months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

Feaster was one of seven Fresno residents charged federally as a result of Operation No Fly Zone, a multi-agency investigation that sought to address a rise in the number of shootings and homicides in Fresno. According to court documents, on March 16, 2022, investigators learned that Feaster would be going to a residence in Fresno to pick up a firearm and an extended magazine. Shortly after Feaster left the residence, officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on his car, but Feaster failed to yield. Feaster got out of the car with a bag and fled on foot. After a chase, officers arrested Feaster and seized the bag from him. Inside the bag, officers found a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine. Feaster was not allowed to possess firearms because he had previously been convicted of first degree robbery, a felony offense.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Fresno Police Department; the Fresno-area Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC); the California Department of Justice; the California Highway Patrol; the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office; the Kings County Sheriff’s Office; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin J. Gilio and Antonio J. Pataca prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Source: DOJ Release