SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today against Maurice Antoine Jefferson, 42, of American Canyon, charging him with possessing marijuana and cocaine for distribution within 1,000 feet of the Will C. Wood High School on Marshall Road in Vacaville and for possessing a firearm as a felon, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Jefferson was the sole proprietor of Shredders Federation clothing store in Vacaville and allegedly used the business as a cover to distribute marijuana and cocaine to high school students and others and as a front for money laundering. When law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the store in August 2016, they found 6.4 pounds of marijuana, 129 grams of cocaine, and other indicia of drug distribution. Jefferson was carrying a 9 mm pistol with him when Vacaville Police Officers arrived at the business. Jefferson has a felony conviction and is not allowed to possess any firearms.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Solano County Violent Crime Task Force, the Vacaville Police Department and the Napa Special Investigations Bureau with assistance from the Solano County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy H. Delgado and Jason Hitt are prosecuting the case.
If convicted of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute near a school zone, Jefferson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. If convicted of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute near a school zone, Jefferson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 60 years in prison and a $20 million fine. If convicted of possessing a firearm as a felon, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence would be determined at the discretion of the district court after considering any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
credit:justice.gov