Felon Found Guilty of Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition
Press release from the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office:
Today a Humboldt County jury found Jessie Matthew Herrera guilty of possession of a firearm by a felon and unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon. These crimes were discovered on the morning of Saturday February 3, 2018, when Eureka Police Department Officer Jonathan Eckert stopped a car traveling the wrong direction on the one-way section of Allard Avenue. During the traffic stop, Officer Eckert noted an open container of alcohol on the floorboard and requested warrant checks on both the driver and the passenger (Mr. Herrera). Officer Eckert learned Mr. Herrera had outstanding warrants out of Stockton and arrested him for those warrants. The driver was on probation with search terms, so Officer Eckert conducted a search of the vehicle. He found a firearm and ammunition in the glove compartment directly in front of the defendant. Following Officer Eckert informing the defendant of his Miranda rights, he admitted ownership of the firearm and ammunition.
Because the defendant has a “strike” prior conviction for robbery with infliction of great bodily injury, he faces a maximum sentence of 7 years 4 months in prison for today’s convictions. Sentencing is scheduled for August 16, 2018 before Judge Kaleb Cockrum who was the trial judge. Deputy District Attorney Joel Buckingham prosecuted the case; Deputy Public Defender Joe Judge represented the defendant. The District Attorney’s Office appreciates Officer Eckert’s effective police-work.
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My comment on this article is just to show the people of Eureka how many of these convictions the Humboldt County DA’s office could prosecute on a yearly basis. There are at least 25 laws concerning felons in possession of firearms, ammo, silencers, and various other parts and pieces of gun, rifles, pistols, revolvers etc. If everyone of these felons was prosecuted to the full extent of the law Just this one set of laws would back up the Humboldt Court system for years to come. The County has no place to put these felons, but the laws already exist and they could lock up hundreds of ex-felons. If the laws are obeyed and the DA does her job it would remove hundreds of guns from our streets almost overnight….My remedy is to lock every last one of these felons up and have them serve their complete sentence. It would put the fear of God in them and would virtually eliminate felons in possession of a firearm or ammo.
It’s kind of a damned if you do damned if you don’t. Enforce the current laws and clog up the courts so bad that it makes the current speed of a slug look fast, or don’t charge them and let these ass hats out to do something more serious.
I agree though, we definitely don’t need NEW gun laws, we just need to actually lean hard on the ones we already have to make a big difference.
It would only back log the system because the system has been so easy on gun crime for so long, if these rules were followed strictly from the beginning there would be less crimes because criminals would actually be afraid of getting in trouble.
HEY! Shoot someone with your beloved gun and watch the wheels of justice speed up!
Why the hell a felon thinks he needs a firearm is beyond me. If he uses it, he will spend the rest of his life in prison!
Guns are almost as stupid as growing marijuana for a living. The only reason to own a firearm is for legitimate hunting, which, in California, is becoming a thing of the past.
Please don’t shoot anybody and store your weapons carefully!
The average person would be better off owning a baseball bat. Pretty hard to kill yourself with a baseball bat, and a baseball bat is pretty unlikely to get you thrown in prison!
As for felon in possession, the jails must be pretty full. I wonder if being in jail is somehow fun! Why do so many seem to want to return?
The food?
Who are you, or anyone else, to define what are reasons for me to own a firearm? You may decide whether it’s appropriate or not for yourself to have one, but not for me.
Guns are not stupid [edit], they have no mind. It is the A holes that use them in crimes who are stupid. When was the last time a gun ran out in the street and tried to shoot you all by itself?
Yeah Rolo. Same with meth.
You’re right the baseball bat would definitely stop a criminal with a gun. And we should definitely solely rely on police and the court system to protect us and take care of us. The same court system that keeps letting these felons out of jail to commit more crimes…
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/paulhsieh/2018/04/30/that-time-the-cdc-asked-about-defensive-gun-uses/amp/
The main problem with all of this is… Regarding laws, there are two types of individuals. The ones who choose to follow them. And the ones who don’t. Make as many laws as you want and see how many the rebels obey. Laws are like door locks. They’re there to keep good people honest. They don’t do crap for people with bad intentions. I’ve been thinking that rewarding people for good behavior may be just as effective as punishment for bad. If people thought that a good deed might be rewarded with an entry into a million dollar lottery. Maybe more people would hold a door open, or help a senior carry their groceries home.
I suppose by your logic we should be executing all speeders, jaywalkers and panhandlers.