Convicted felon sentenced to federal prison for firearm offenses, witness tampering
Apr. 5—Chad Gabris, 41, of Mililani, was sentenced today to 52 months in federal prison for firearm offenses and witness tampering.
Senior U.S. District Judge Susan O. Mollway also ordered that his federal sentence run consecutive to a state prison term for violating his state parole and also imposed a three-year term of supervised release to begin once Gabris is released from prison, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for Hawaii.
Federal prosecutors said Gabris, a member of the La Familia prison gang and a registered sex offender, was on parole Oct. 8, 2019, when law enforcement officers found a Glock.40 Smith & Wesson firearm and 70 rounds of ammunition hidden in his car in Mililani.
Four prior felony convictions—two for sexual assault and two for breaking into a motor vehicle—prevented him from legally possessing the firearm and ammunition, the release said.
As part of his guilty plea to the firearm offenses, Gabris also admitted that after his arrest, he persuaded both his mother and the mother of his children to lie to federal investigators to shield him from prosecution. The women falsely claimed that the firearm and ammunition did not belong to Gabris and that his mother had purchased them from a homeless man in a parking lot, the release said.
"Gabris assured his mother that if she was arrested for possessing the firearm and ammunition, she would not spend more than a year in jail and that he would make arrangements to bail her out, " the release said.
"Our office is firmly committed to prosecuting convicted criminals who illegally keep guns, " said U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors in a statement. "A core objective of the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort is to protect the community from an armed defendant who has a prior association with a prison gang and is a registered sex offender with sexual assault convictions."
Project Safe Neighborhoods, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice's violent crime reduction efforts, relies on "a broad spectrum of stakeholders working together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develops comprehensive solutions to address them, " the release said.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill said in a statement, "The sentencing today sends a strong message that convicted felons should never be in possession of any firearms as they are a menace to our society. The FBI is grateful to work with the Hawaii Department of Public Safety-Sheriff Division, Honolulu Police Department, and the Hawaii Paroling Authority as we continue to combat violent crimes across our state to protect the public and hold those accountable for such acts."
