Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Tyson Farrell, 26, of Redding, charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Farrell was arrested twice in the span of five months and found to be in possession of a firearm each time. Farrell has multiple felony convictions and may not legally possess firearms.

On Sept. 16, 2020, while driving without a valid license, Farrell was stopped by a law enforcement officer who noticed that Farrell’s car had a nonfunctioning brake light, in violation of the California Vehicle Code. Farrell was on post release community supervision from a prior conviction and found to have a partially dismantled Ruger Model 77/17 in the back seat.

On Jan. 10, 2020, a police officer stopped a car in which Farrell was a passenger, having recognized the driver and knowing he was driving on a restricted license. The officer also recognized Farrell and confirmed through a records check that Farrell was the subject of a pending felony warrant. The officer searched the car and recovered a Colt .38 caliber revolver from a laundry bag in the car’s back seat where Farrell had been sitting.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Redding Police Department, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Conolly is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Farrell faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.

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