FRESNO - Jaime Ornelas, 39, of Modesto, was sentenced to 151 months in prison by the U.S. District Court Judge Anthony W. Ishii for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to court documents, on August 13, 2012, California Highway Patrol officers observed Ornelas driving on Crows Landing in south Modesto at a high rate of speed. They saw him stop the car in a driveway, and they pulled in behind him and activated their emergency lights. The suspect ran from the car and then struggled with the officer who caught up with him, injuring the officer. The defendant dropped a loaded stolen pistol during the chase.

Ornelas was picked up by Ceres Police Department on Oct. 14 after he passed out in his car at the drive-thru lane of a Foster Freeze. Officers found Ornelas unresponsive behind the wheel, determined his identity, and learned that he was on parole. They searched him and the car and found approximately $292 in cash and a sheet with names and numbers in his pocket, a black bag with approximately 34 grams of methamphetamine, two grams of heroin, and marijuana, and a grocery bag with a loaded 9mm pistol.
The suspect has seven prior felony convictions since 1995 for a variety of controlled substance offenses, including drug trafficking offenses, and infliction of corporal injury on a spouse or co-habitant.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, California Highway Patrol, Ceres Police Department, and the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office, and is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods ("PSN"). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez.