A federal grand jury has indicted Marquese Alvin Roberts, 36, of Vallejo, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Eric Grant.
Court documents state that on May 3, 2025, law enforcement received multiple reports of gunshots on the 1600 block of Fairgrounds Drive in Vallejo. Officers responded with help from a California Highway Patrol helicopter and other agencies. During the response, officers in the helicopter saw Roberts take a firearm from a vehicle and hide it in nearby bushes. They guided ground officers to the location where Roberts was arrested and the firearm recovered. At the time, Roberts was on supervised release after a 2018 federal conviction for carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
The investigation involved several agencies: the Vallejo Police Department, American Canyon Police Department, California Highway Patrol Air Unit, FBI’s Solano County Violent Crimes Task Force, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Solano County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella is prosecuting.
Roberts was also arrested on May 7, 2025 for violating supervised release conditions related to his prior conviction and remains in federal custody.
If convicted of this new charge, Roberts could face up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The final sentence would be determined by the court based on statutory factors and federal Sentencing Guidelines; at this stage all charges are allegations and he is presumed innocent 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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone,” according to officials. “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.”
