SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Richard J. Beall, 49, of Stockton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to 15 years in prison for distribution of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
Beall pleaded guilty to the charges on September 29, 2016. According to the plea agreement, in February and March 2016, Beall engaged in methamphetamine transactions with an undercover agent and a confidential informant. During one transaction in Beall’s residence, he sat on a couch with a semi-automatic pistol on an end table near his left hand. Beall cannot legally possess firearms because he is a convicted felon.
“At ATF, our highest priority is reducing violent crime within our communities,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder. “This case is an example of the work ATF agents do on a daily basis to protect the public from armed drug traffickers who threaten our neighborhoods.”
According to court documents, on March 29, 2016, Beall was seen driving a truck that had been reported stolen. When local patrol officers initiated a traffic stop, Beall drove off and led the officers on a chase through orchards and farmlands before abandoning the truck and climbing a cherry tree. The arresting officers got him down from the tree and found a loaded pistol in his left-rear pocket. Later that day, officers obtained and executed a search warrant at Beall’s residence and found a loaded AK-47 rifle with a high-capacity magazine and two additional handguns.
This case was a product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Stockton Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross K. Naughton prosecuted the case.