A South Seattle gang member with an extensive criminal history spanning drug trafficking, shootings, and weapons violations received a four-year federal prison sentence Tuesday for illegal firearm possession.
Samuel N. Rezene, 38, was sentenced to 48 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm. The case stems from a March 2024 car crash on Aurora Avenue North where Rezene fled the scene, leaving behind a gun that investigators later linked to multiple violent crimes.
U.S. District Judge James L. Robart emphasized the defendant’s pattern of violence during sentencing. “As far as I can tell, this defendant wants to be taken out of society,” Robart stated. “You don’t get a Glock 9 to protect yourself, you get that to be back in the trade.”
The firearm recovery occurred just 83 days after Rezene’s release from a 92-month federal sentence for a previous conviction. DNA evidence on the weapon’s magazine confirmed Rezene’s handling, while ballistic analysis connected the gun to four separate shooting incidents that occurred before his 2017 imprisonment.
Most significantly, investigators linked the weapon to a September 3, 2023 homicide in Seattle’s Holly Park neighborhood, occurring weeks after Rezene’s prison release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller highlighted the defendant’s rapid return to criminal activity. “Less than three months after his release from a 92-month prison sentence, Mr. Rezene again had a firearm, drove dangerously, crashed his car in a high crime area, and fled from police,” Miller stated. “The only thing that stops his criminal conduct is time behind prison bars.”
Rezene’s criminal history includes a violent cycle that began with drug robberies targeting rival gang members in 2011 and 2013. These crimes triggered retaliatory drive-by shootings against Rezene’s residence and vehicles, escalating into broader gang warfare.
The violence culminated in May 2014 when Rezene was shot multiple times at a Renton gas station. Despite severe injuries requiring hospitalization at Harborview Medical Center, he attempted to return fire using a weapon from his vehicle’s console.
Following his recovery, Rezene continued violent activities. Law enforcement observed him shooting at a rival gang-associated business in October 2014, leading to state charges and eventually his 2017 federal conviction.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg noted how Rezene’s actions created cascading violence. “His commission of two drug robberies set off a violent chain of events that ultimately led to him being shot at the Shell station in 2014,” Greenberg wrote to the court.
Federal firearms statutes specifically target individuals like Rezene, whose felony convictions for drug trafficking, illegal weapons possession, promoting prostitution, and attempting to elude police permanently prohibit firearm ownership.
