Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

            OAKLAND – Richard Straight, Jenna Jeanne Allec, and Kenneth Lee Kemp were each sentenced today for their respective roles in an interstate firearms trafficking scheme announced Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder.  The sentences were handed down by the Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, United States District Judge, following the entry in September of 2017 by each defendant of a guilty plea.   

On April 20, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Straight, 27, of Oakland; Allec, 26, of Oakland; Kemp, 32, of Elko, Nev.; and others in a Second Superseding Indictment for their respective roles in trafficking scores of firearms from Nevada to Oakland, Calif.  Straight, Allec, and Kemp each entered into plea agreements in which they acknowledged committing crimes related to the interstate gun trafficking scheme.  

According to his plea agreement, Straight, admitted that between March of 2015 and May of 2017, he engaged in the business of dealing firearms without a license. Straight admitted he acted as the middleman for firearms purchases in Nevada and that his conduct was intended to assist buyers who travelled from outside the state for the purpose of firearms trafficking.  According to his plea agreement, Straight also admitted he was responsible for the sale of about 39 firearms.  Straight admitted buyers paid him for the price of the firearm plus, on average, an extra $50 to $100.  Straight pleaded guilty to one count of dealing in firearms without a license, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)(A), and one count of aiding and abetting traveling interstate to promote illegal firearms trafficking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § § 924(n) and 2.  Today, Judge Gilliam sentenced Straight to 42 months in prison and three years of supervised release. 

Allec admitted that she, too, engaged in the business of dealing in firearms without a license.  According to her plea agreement, she purchased firearms in Nevada from licensed firearm dealers and then sold the firearms to others. Allec admitted that she sold about 18 firearms during the period of October 2015 to June of 2016 earning approximately $50 to $100 per firearm.  Allec pleaded guilty to one count of dealing in firearms without a license, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)(A).  Today, Judge Gilliam sentenced Allec to 48 months of probation with a special condition of 24 months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service.

According to his plea agreement, Kemp admitted he engaged in a conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license.  Specifically, he agreed to engage in an illegal operation to traffic firearms from the Reno, Nev. area to Oakland, Calif.  He admitted he purchased firearms in Nevada and sold firearms to others who lived in California or who could provide the firearms to others in California.  Kemp admitted he trafficked approximately 21 firearms.  Kemp pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.  Judge Gilliam sentenced Kemp to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release. 

In addition to these defendants, on November 27, 2017, Judge Gilliam sentenced Edgar de La Cruz for his role in the scheme, as well as his other crimes of Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1951, and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §924(c).  Judge Gilliam sentenced de La Cruz to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release. 

This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the ATF Crime Gun Intelligence Center, San Francisco Field Division (SFFD).  Additional assistance was provided by the Reno and Sparks Police Departments.

Further Information:

            Case #: CR 16-00516 HSG

            A copy of this press release will be placed on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can. 

            Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

            Judges' calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court's website at www.cand.uscourts.gov. 

            All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Abraham Simmons at (415) 436-7264 or by e-mail at Abraham.Simmons@usdoj.gov.