Ten-Time Felon Sentenced to Decade in Prison for Drug Trafficking and Illegal Gun Possession

SAN DIEGO - Ten-time felon Robert Stokes of San Diego was sentenced in federal court today to 10 years in prison for his latest crimes: Trafficking PCP and methamphetamine and illegally possessing multiple firearms as a convicted felon.

According to court records, on August 28, 2025, members of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Narcotics Task Force and the San Diego Police Department were conducting proactive patrols in Logan Heights when they observed what appeared to be a drug sale involving Stokes and another individual. Officers stopped Stokes' Jeep and found 67 small vials of PCP and several baggies of methamphetamine inside.

That seizure led investigators to identify two RVs Stokes owned in Julian, California. On September 18, 2025, law enforcement searched the RVs and recovered more than a kilogram each of PCP and methamphetamine, along with digital scales and six loaded firearms, including rifles and a handgun equipped with a suppressor.

Stokes was not present during the RV search. But within hours, investigators found him in Southeast San Diego driving another vehicle carrying additional PCP and methamphetamine packaged identically to the drugs seized during the August 28 traffic stop.

Stokes pleaded guilty to the most recent charges in April. The defendant is prohibited from possessing firearms because of his nine prior felony convictions. Court records show his criminal history in San Diego County includes burglary, robbery and drug crimes.

"Four decades of crime. Ten felony convictions. Finally, after this federal conviction, one problem solved," said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.

"Drug trafficking and the illegal possession of firearms are a dangerous combination that threatens the safety of our communities," said DEA Special Agent in Charge James Nunnallee. "For decades, the defendant has engaged in criminal activity that put lives at risk. DEA and our law enforcement partners remain committed to holding violent and repeat offenders accountable and protecting the communities we serve."

"A combination of proactive police work, investigative follow-up and great prosecution is keeping San Diego communities safer," said San Diego Police Deputy Chief Shawn Takeuchi. "This sentence keeps someone who was committed to criminal activity off our streets for a long time. We are grateful for the continued collaboration between local, state and federal law enforcement here in San Diego to hold criminals accountable."

DEFENDANT Case Number 25-CR-4665-JES

Robert Thomas Stokes Age: 62 San Diego, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Possession with intent to distribute 1 or more kilograms of PCP - 21 U.S.C. §841(a)(1)

Maximum Penalty: Life in prison and $10 million fine

Possession with intent to distribute 50 or more grams of methamphetamine - 21 U.S.C. §841(a)(1)

Maximum Penalty: Life in prison and $10 million fine

Felon in Possession of a Firearm - 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(1)

Maximum Penalty: Fifteen years in prison and $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Drug Enforcement Administration

San Diego Police Department

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

This investigation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and INTERPOL, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California.