21 months for felon who pulled gun in Bayview store after “remarkable transformation” won him probation in last firearms case
A felon with four previous gun convictions, who was spared prison the last time he was caught with a firearm after telling a judge he had undergone “a truly remarkable transformation,” was sentenced to 21 months today for pulling a gun on a man in a Bayview convenience store.
Kennieth Matthews pleaded guilty in August to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and admitted violating the probation he was given in his last gun case, after police found a loaded .40-caliber pistol in his satchel.
“I am continually saddened by hearing that the only way people can feel safe is by getting guns,” said U.S. District Judge Susan Illston this morning at San Francisco federal courthouse.
“Whether that’s correct or not, we could debate all day long, but the point is you have to come to grips with the fact that you will never be able to own a gun…that’s something you’ll have to learn.”
Matthews was caught on camera brandishing the gun at a man inside the Oakdale Market on February 16 2026, and while Matthews claimed the man had a knife, the man told police he knew Matthews from the neighborhood and was afraid of him.
SFPD officers arrested Matthews on April 2 and found a Springfield Armory XD-40 in his satchel, loaded with 11 .40-caliber rounds, and a federal grand jury indicted him the following month.
The store confrontation came less than a year after Illston sentenced Matthews to three years’ probation for his previous federal gun conviction, sparing him potentially five years in prison. Prosecutors backed that sentence after his lawyers told the court he had turned his back on crime and wanted only to care for his son.
“The representations have proven false,” assistant U.S. attorney Wendy Garbers wrote in a sentencing memo, adding that Matthews “was not supposed to have a firearm in the first instance and clearly escalated the situation, putting the lives of all present in danger.”
Prosecutors sought 27 months, the top of the guidelines range and the same term recommended by the U.S. Probation Office, along with a concurrent 24 months for the probation violation.
“Matthews cannot continue to utilize his past as an excuse to continue possessing firearms,” the Probation Office said in its report, which described him as a danger to the community.
His lawyer asked for 18 months, and the court was told Matthews armed himself after being hit by several rounds from an assault rifle on a night out in Oakland in September 2025.
Matthews, who has been in custody since his April arrest, was also sentenced to 21 months for the probation violation, to run concurrently, and three years of supervised release.
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