Shasta County Man Indicted for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and for Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment yesterday against Anthony Alexander Basso, 44, of Cottonwood, charging him with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of being a felon in possession ammunition, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. 

According to court documents, on Sept. 11, 2022, law enforcement officers stopped Basso for a pending arrest warrant and found Basso had with him in his car a handgun with no serial number (sometimes called a “ghost gun”), heroin, methamphetamine, AR-platform receivers, ammunition, AR-platform magazines, Narcan, tools for milling firearm components, a police scanner, and over $10,000 in cash. Search warrants were executed for a storage unit Basso used and additional AR-style rifles in various states of construction, thousands of rounds of ammunition, a Heckler & Koch handgun, and nearly a kilogram of methamphetamine were found.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Anderson Police Department, and the Shasta Inter-Agency Narcotics Task Force (SINTF). Assistant U.S. Attorney James Conolly is prosecuting the case.

If convicted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, Basso faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. This charge also carries a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence. If convicted of being a felon in possession of ammunition, or a felon in possession of a firearm, Basso faces a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.