18 February 2005 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced that Timothy Byrd was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his involvement in the explosive materials stolen from law enforcement bunkers in San Mateo county in July 2004.
Mr. Byrd, 36, of Hayward, was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 23, 2004. He was charged with unlicensed receipt of explosives, possession of stolen explosives, being a felon in possession of explosives, and with making a false statement to a federal agent. The indictment alleged that two of Mr. Byrd’s co-defendants, Michael Allan and Dean Utile, stole hundreds of pounds of explosives materials from the law enforcement bunkers over the July 4th weekend in 2004. On September 22, 2004, Mr. Byrd pleaded guilty and admitted he had received stolen explosives, including C4, from Allan, and that he had been convicted of a felony offense prior to having possessed those explosives.
The 30-month sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge D. Lowell Jensen in Oakland following Mr. Byrd’s guilty plea to one count of possession of stolen explosives, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 842(h), and one count of being a felon in possession of explosives, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 842(i)(1). In addition to the 30-month prison term, Judge Jensen sentenced the defendant to a 3-year term of supervised release to follow his prison term. Mr. Sherinian has been in federal custody since he was arrested on July 14, 2004.
All four men involved in stealing and receiving these explosive materials have pleaded guilty, and three of them have now been sentenced. On February 4, 2005, Gregory Sherinian was sentenced to 37 months in prison for possessing three stolen grenades. On February 11, 2005, Michael Allan was sentenced to 51 months in prison. The only defendant that has not yet been sentenced, Dean Utile, is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday, February 23, at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Jensen in Oakland.
The prosecution is the result of an intense investigation led by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and involving multiple federal, state, and local agencies. Douglas Sprague is the Assistant United States Attorney is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release and related court filings may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can . Related court documents and information may be found on the U.S. District Court website at www.cand.uscourts.gov or on .
All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Luke Macaulay at (415) 436-6757 or by email at Luke.Macaulay3@usdoj.gov .
