On March 7, 2025, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Jesus Manuel, 44, of Silver Spring, Maryland, to 58 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possessing a firearm and ammunition while guilty.
According to the plea agreement, on October 28, 2023, at approximately 10:30 p.m., a Riverdale Park Police officer arrived at a restaurant in Riverdale Park, Maryland, to begin work at his secondary employment position as a security guard.
Upon the officer’s arrival, a restaurant employee informed him that the defendant had attempted to enter the restaurant earlier in the evening while carrying a fanny pack around his torso that could have carried a pistol. The employee described the defendant’s physical characteristics to the police.
The officer went to the restaurant parking lot at 2:30 a.m. after learning of an altercation. A male restaurant patron contacted the police, reporting that the defendant had threatened him with a pistol. Then, a second male patron contacted the police, claiming that the defendant had also threatened him with a pistol. Both men pointed at the defendant. The officer requested extra officers from police dispatch.
Officers contacted the defendant after noticing him standing near the restaurant’s kitchen entrance at 3:10 a.m. The defendant wore the same fanny pack around his body. As the officers approached, the defendant began to walk, then run away. Officers pursued the defendant across the restaurant parking lot, across Baltimore Avenue, and into another lot behind a fast-food restaurant. While running, the defendant completely removed the fanny pack off his body. The defendant tossed the fanny pack away from him. The defendant was then handcuffed. An officer recovered the defendant’s fanny pack, which he flung on the ground. As the officer picked up the fanny pack, he felt what he recognized as a revolver muzzle.
The officer then used a flashlight to inspect the contents of the fanny pack and extracted a firearm, namely a Glock model 21.45 caliber pistol loaded with roughly 8 rounds of .45 caliber ammo. Because he had at least one prior felony conviction, the defendant was not permitted to possess either the firearm or the ammunition.
Kelly O. Hayes, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentencing alongside Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ Baltimore Field Division (ATF).
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together law enforcement at all levels and the communities they serve to minimize violent crime and gun violence while also making our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy to strengthen PSN based on the following core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence in the first place, establishing focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
United States Attorney Hayes praised the ATF and Riverdale Park Police for their efforts on the case. Ms. Hayes praised Assistant US Attorneys Brooke Oki and Dawn Williams for prosecuting the case.