United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

ARMED CAREER CRIMINAL SENTENCED TO NEARLY 24 YEARS
IN FEDERAL PRISON, WITHOUT PAROLE

DALLAS — Christopher Joe Cantu, 36, of Dallas, who was convicted last December of being a felon in possession of a loaded firearm in connection with his April 2007 arrest, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 284 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Cantu, an armed career criminal, possessed the firearm as he fled his car during a traffic stop in west Dallas.

During the early morning hours of April 4, 2007, while patrolling in the area of Palacios and Bernal in west Dallas, Dallas Police Department officers saw a red Eagle Talon run two stop signs, and conducted a traffic stop in front of a nearby house.

Cantu and his passenger both left the car as the officers pulled to a stop, with Cantu walking toward a parked van and the passenger running down Palacios. Cantu was carrying an object that appeared to be a blue apron. The officers saw Cantu kneel down and place the item under the van. When the officers went to retrieve the item, they discovered a 9 millimeter pistol, which was loaded with 16 bullets, ready to fire, and a blue bullet-proof vest. The passenger, who was identified as Cantu’s brother-in-law, was detained by the officers after he threw several baggies of cocaine and marijuana as he was running. In the Talon, the officers also found a black wool cap, which had been fashioned into a ski mask.

A Dallas Police Officer testified at Cantu’s October 16, 2007, detention hearing that Cantu was a member of the prison gang Puro Tango Blast. Because Cantu was previously convicted of more than three felony crimes of violence, he was charged under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act.

The case was adopted by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office under the Project Safe Neighborhoods program, a nationwide effort which targets gun crime.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the Dallas Police Department and the ATF. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jordan A. Konig and Brandon McCarthy prosecuted the case.

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