A GUN AND DRUGS GET A CONVICTED FELON 97 MONTHS INCARCERATION

Memphis, TN - James K. Vines, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, James M. Cavanaugh, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Nashville Field Division, and Chief of Police Robert Terry, Cookeville Police Department, announce that Vernon Thomas MENDOZA, age 26, of Cookeville, Tennessee, was sentenced on July 11, 2003 in Federal District Court for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

MENDOZA was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Aleta Trauger to 37 months imprisonment for being a felon in possession of a firearm and to 60 months incarceration for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Judge Trauger ordered the sentences to run consecutively. In addition to sentencing MENDOZA to 97 months incarceration, Judge Trauger ordered that MENDOZA be placed on supervised release for a term of three years following his release from prison.

This investigation began on October 23, 2002 after MENDOZA attempted to purchase 1000 rounds of 9mm ammunition from a Walmart store located in Cookeville. A store employee refused to sell the ammunition to MENDOZA because MENDOZA was unable to provide identification verifying that he was 21 years old or older. Approximately 20 minutes later, co-conspirator William CRIDER entered Walmart and purchased the 9mm ammunition for MENDOZA. Due to the suspicious nature of this transaction, a Walmart store employee contacted the Cookeville Police Department (CPD) and notified detectives of the transaction. Follow-up investigation conducted by ATF Special Agents and detectives from CPD and the 13th Judicial District Drug Task Force revealed that moreMENDOZA and CRIDER were convicted felons prohibited from possessing ammunition and firearms. On November 1, 2002, a state search warrant was executed at MENDOZA'S 601 Buffalo Valley Road, Cookeville residence. MENDOZA was not at the residence when investigators initially executed the search warrant; however, MENDOZA did drive up to the house in his car during the search. When investigators contacted MENDOZA they found 11 bindles of methamphetamine in his rear pant pocket and a loaded revolver under the drivers seat of his car.

On November 21, 2002 this investigation was presented to a Federal grand jury. The grand jury returned a seven-count indictment against MENDOZA charging him with violating various Federal firearms and narcotics laws. As a result of the indictment, on March 25, 2003, MENDOZA pleaded guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm (18 U.S.C., Section 922 (g)(1)) and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (18 U.SC., Section 924 (c))

CRIDER plead guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm on January 27, 2003 and was sentence on June 6, 2003, by Judge Trauger, to 24 months incarceration and three years of supervised release upon completion of his (CRIDER'S) prison term.

Since there is no parole in the Federal corrections system, MENDOZA and CRIDER will serve a minimum of 85% of their sentences.

This case was investigated by ATF Special Agents and detectives from the Cookeville Police Department and the 13th Judicial District Drug Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anna Cramer.

Under a gun violence reduction program known as HEAT (Help Eliminate Armed Thugs), the United States Attorney's Office in Nashville and ATF have partnered with state, city, and county law enforcement authorities to conduct aggressive investigations and prosecutions involving persons who illegally possess firearms and/or use them to commit other crimes.

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