Cops Gone Bad: San Francisco Sheriff’s Deputy And A Former San Francisco Jail Inmate Arrested On Gun And Fraud Charges

Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and investigators from the San Francisco Public Corruption Task Force arrested San Francisco Sheriff’s Deputy April Myres and a former San Francisco Jail inmate, Antoine Fowler, on gun and fraud charges, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett.
A criminal complaint was filed in federal court against Fowler, 32, yesterday afternoon.  An amended complaint was filed against Myres, 52, earlier today.


According to the complaints, Myres gave her Sheriff’s Department-issued firearm, a Glock 17 9mm pistol, to Fowler and later claimed that it had been stolen in a burglary of her home.  The gun was located yesterday by FBI agents under the front driver-side console of Fowler’s car after Fowler was pulled over in Oakland by FBI SWAT agents.


According to the criminal complaints, Myres made a claim to her insurance company that numerous items, including her Sheriff’s Department-issued firearm, body armor, and handcuffs (as well as a mink jacket and a number of Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Versace handbags, and Manolo Blahnik, Gucci, and Christian Louboutin shoes) were stolen from her home in San Francisco on March 25, 2016.  The FBI conducted a search of Myres’ residence on February 2, 2017, and found a number of the items Myres claimed had been stolen.  The amended criminal complaint against Myres charges her with mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, and 1349, as well as disposing of a firearm by providing it to a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(d).
Fowler, who was released from the San Francisco Jail on January 11, 2016, is alleged to have had a romantic relationship with Myres before his release.  According to the complaints, when Fowler was arrested on February 2, Myres’ service firearm, which she had reported stolen to the insurance company, was in his car.  The criminal complaint against Fowler charges him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).


The charges and successful recovery of the firearm were the result of close cooperation and coordination by members of the San Francisco Public Corruption Task Force, including the FBI, the San Francisco Police Department Internal Affairs Unit, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, and the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department Investigative Services Unit.  The investigation began shortly after Myres claimed the firearm and other items were stolen from her house in March 2016.
Defendants Myres and Fowler were arrested on February 2, 2017, and made their initial appearances in San Francisco on February 3, 2017, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler.  Fowler is being detained pending further hearings now scheduled for February 7, 2017, at 9:30 am before Magistrate Judge Beeler.  Myres was released on a $1 million secured bond and is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Beeler on February 15, 2017.


If convicted, the maximum statutory penalty Fowler faces for being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), is 10 years in prison.  If convicted, the maximum statutory penalty Myres faces for each count of mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy is 20 years in prison, and the maximum statutory penalty for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(d), is 10 years.  However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.


A criminal complaint merely alleges there is probable cause to believe crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being prosecuted by the Special Prosecutions and National Security Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office.