A Seattle man with a history of gang involvement and gun violence has been sentenced to four years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The sentence was handed down in U.S. District Court in Seattle for Samuel N. Rezene, 38, who has prior convictions related to drug trafficking, promoting prostitution, and firearms offenses.
Rezene’s criminal record includes being the target of multiple shootings. In one incident in February 2012, his girlfriend was shot and killed while riding in a car he was driving. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart stated: “As far as I can tell, this defendant wants to be taken out of society…. You don’t get a Glock 9 to protect yourself, you get that to be back in the trade.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller commented on Rezene’s conduct following an earlier prison term: “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 said. “The only thing that stops his criminal conduct is time behind prison bars. This sentence is necessary for community safety.”
Court records show that just 83 days into federal supervised release, Rezene crashed his parents’ vehicle on Aurora Avenue North and left the scene with a firearm still inside the car. He was later arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm before pleading guilty on May 30, 2025.
Investigators determined that Rezene’s DNA was present on the magazine found inside the pistol recovered from the crash scene. Ballistics analysis linked this weapon to four previous shooting incidents before Rezene’s release from federal custody for a conviction dating back to May 2017. The same gun is also connected to a homicide that occurred September 3, 2023 in Seattle’s Holly Park neighborhood shortly after his release.
Rezene’s past includes involvement in two separate drug robberies of rival gang members in 2011 and 2013; these acts resulted in retaliatory drive-by shootings targeting him and property associated with him or his associates. In one such event on May 15, 2014 at a Renton gas station, Rezene was shot multiple times but survived after attempting to return fire.
Despite surviving that attack and being hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center—his assailant remains unidentified—Rezene continued engaging in violent activity after recovery. Law enforcement observed him firing shots at another business linked to rival gangs several months later; he received state prison time for firearms violations tied to this behavior.
In December 2014 he faced federal charges resulting eventually in a conviction at trial by May 2017—a case which led directly into the most recent period of incarceration before these new offenses took place.
Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg urged for a maximum guideline sentence: “The federal firearms statutes exist for the purpose of keeping firearms out of the hands of people like Samuel Rezene. Rezene has lived a reckless and dangerous lifestyle as a gang member and drug dealer. 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.”
The investigation involved both the Seattle Police Department and assistance from the FBI; prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg.
