July 25, 2023 - FRESNO, Calif. — Earnest Donte Ruff, 25, of Fresno, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison for being a felon in possession of ammunition, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on April 21, 2021, Ruff was arrested and found to be in possession of a loaded .40‑caliber gun with no serial number. At the time, Ruff was out on bond pending sentencing in a case in which he had pleaded guilty to participating in a shooting on “the Strip” in Las Vegas. When Ruff possessed the firearm in this case, he was also on community supervision for illegally possessing another firearm in Fresno in 2019. This conviction is Ruff’s fifth conviction for illegally possessing firearms or ammunition.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Gilio 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.

Source: DOJ Release