Project Safe Neighborhoods

Portland, Ore. – Vernon H. Willey, 38, formerly of Hillsboro, Oregon was sentenced on May 21, 2007, to a term of 188 months imprisonment by U.S. District Court Judge Garr M King. The sentencing followed defendant’s earlier guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Willey’s sentencing fell under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act, which requires a fifteen-year mandatory minimum sentence for individuals who possess firearms or ammunition and have criminal histories that include crimes of violence or drug trafficking.

Willey has prior convictions for drug manufacturing, possession of a short-barrelled shotgun and residential burglary. The federal prosecution followed Willey’s arrest by King City and Tigard police officers and further investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). According to U.S. Attorney Karin J. Immergut, “PSN’s goal is to reduce gun violence and create safer communities by prosecuting firearms offenses in federal court where serious sentences are available for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.”

For further information, please contact Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Edmonds at (503) 727-1122

All media inquiries about Project Safe Neighborhoods in Oregon should be directed to:

Fred Weinhouse
Assistant U.S. Attorney
U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Oregon
503-727-1000
E-mail: Fred Weinhouse