MAN SENTENCED TO SEVEN YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR WEAPONS CHARGES
Repeat offender twice caught with pipe bomb and pistol
CHARLES W. WARREN, 33, of Tenino, Washington was sentenced today by United States District Judge Franklin D. Burgess in Tacoma, to 84 months in prison and three years of supervised release for the crimes of Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Possession of an Unregistered Destructive Device.
WARREN was arrested October 11, 2004 after a foot chase when a Fife police officer saw WARREN walk away from a stolen car that WARREN drove through a casino parking lot. During the chase, WARREN took off and dropped the coat he was wearing. When the coat was later recovered and searched, police found a pipe bomb in one of the pockets. Warren was initially charged in state court and released on bail. On December 23, 2004 police in Yelm arrested WARREN in regards to another stolen car. When police searched WARREN, they found a .22 caliber Beretta pistol in his waistband. Having previously been convicted of multiple felony offenses, WARREN was prohibited from possessing any firearms. WARREN was later arrested on federal charges after he finished a state sentence on other charges.
WARREN’s prior felonies include a Pierce County Superior Court conviction for Attempting to Elude a Pursuing Police Vehicle (1999). He also has multiple King County Superior Court convictions for Taking a Motor Vehicle Without Permission (two in 2001); Taking a Motor Vehicle Without Permission, Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree, and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the Second Degree (2002); and Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree and Attempting to Elude a Pursuing Police Vehicle (2005).
WARREN was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program. Unveiled by President George W. Bush in May 2001, Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a comprehensive and strategic approach to gun law enforcement. PSN is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in America by networking both new and existing local programs that target gun crime and then providing them with the resources and tools they need to succeed. Implementation at the local level -- in this case, in Pierce and Thurston Counties -- has fostered close partnerships between federal, state and local prosecutors and law enforcement.
The case was investigated by the Fife and Yelm Police Departments and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory A. Gruber. For additional information contact Emily Langlie at (206) 553-4110.
