Fernando Aguilera, a 37-year-old Honduran national, has been sentenced to a federal prison term of three years and nine months after being convicted of unlawful possession of ammunition, as reported yesterday. The sentencing was handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge William Alsup, putting an end to a case that has been working its way through the courts since a July 2023 indictment.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Aguilera was found guilty on Feb. 12, following a bench trial. The evidence presented at trial depicted a scene in which Aguilera, brandishing a firearm, discharged it into the air outside a bustling San Francisco bar not once, but on two separate occasions, with the public and vehicles nearby. Fleeing from the responding officers, Aguilera was later caught hiding in the garden area of a nearby residence.
Upon Aguilera's arrest, he was discovered in possession of a firearm that was jammed with an incorrect caliber bullet in the chamber, and additional ammunition in his bag. Before this incident, he had a criminal history marked by four prior felony convictions that included being an accessory, illegal possession of ammunition, and second-degree burglary.
The case's prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelsey Davidson and Sophia Cooper, with the assistance of Kevin Costello and Marina Ponomarchuk. The successful conviction followed an investigation by the FBI and the San Francisco Police Department, which contributed to the aggregation of evidence against Aguilera. In addition to his prison sentence, Judge Alsup imposed three years of supervised release once Aguilera completed his prison term.
United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani announced the outcomes of this case.
