Fugitive gang member on probation in three counties and with five active warrants, plus lengthy rap sheet, sentenced to 20 months in federal court for latest gun offense after San Francisco mall raid

July 18, 2024

One of the Bay Area’s most prolific felons – on probation in three counties, with five active warrants and a rap sheet featuring firearms offenses, murderous threats, theft, burglary and leading police on high-speed pursuits – was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment today after being recaptured while armed with another gun.

Zaire Dunlap was tracked down at a restaurant in January 2023 by SFPD investigators who knew he was a fugitive and suspected him of committing a burglary at San Francisco’s Stonestown Mall on Christmas Day 2022. The Lexus-driving gang member was wearing a stolen Cartier watch and carrying a loaded .45 caliber Glock 30 semi-automatic pistol which he was not allowed to have.

Exasperated federal authorities promptly moved to prosecute him. Dunlap, 28, earlier pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The ‘Westmobb/Mobstarrz’ gang member’s tapestry of arrests, convictions and imprisonments are so complex that prosecutors created a chart in an effort to explain to U.S. District Judge William Orrick what he had been up to.

“You did have a loaded firearm,” Orrick told the defendant this afternoon. “It’s a serious charge and when I look at the history and characteristics…all of the criminal offenses you have had in your life is a lot…just a ton.”

Orrick imposed a 20 month sentence – a ‘downward variance’ from the guideline range of 30-37 months following a prosecution and defense recommendation.

The court was told that Dunlap’s law enforcement contacts included:

March 2016. SFPD arrested Dunlap on Market Street carrying a stolen handgun.

April 2017. After Dunlap published a photograph of himself brandishing a rifle on Instagram, a police search of his home uncovered two guns, a high-capacity drum magazine and 79 rounds of ammunition.

May 2018. Dunlap was found in possession of a loaded magazine.

October 2019. Dunlap led highway patrol officers on an 80-mile 100mph+ chase in a stolen Dodge Challenger before being “forcefully stopped” in San Francisco.

November 2019. SFPD arrested Dunlap after he pointed a gun at a woman’s head and told her he was going to kill her.

March 2020. Dunlap was arrested for vehicle theft in Fremont.

February 2021. Dunlap was arrested in Solano County after again pointing a loaded handgun at a woman, racking the slide and threatening to kill her in front of a child.

May 2022. Vacaville police arrested Dunlap while driving a stolen vehicle and armed with a handgun.

After being released from the May 2022 arrest, Dunlap went on the lam – generating five active warrants for his arrest – until he was apprehended by SFPD and returned to custody in January 2023.

In the intervening period police suspected him of using a stolen car in a Christmas Day burglary of a store in San Francisco’s Stonestown Mall.

On his arrest he was found with a loaded Glock firearm.

Federal authorities then moved to prosecute Dunlap and he was indicted by a grand jury on one count of ‘being a felon in possession of a firearm’ in April 2023

“Mr Dunlap wholeheartedly regrets his conduct,” wrote defense attorneys in a sentencing memorandum, “and recognizes that his actions were unlawful and fully inconsistent with any of his previous conduct or the manner in which he wishes to lead his life going forward.”

“Indeed, Mr Dunlap desires to chart a new course where his main considerations are for his ten-month-old son and his three older children, his mother and wife.”

“I just want to be a better person and do the right thing,” Dunlap himself told this court this afternoon.

“You did have a loaded firearm,” Orrick told the defendant this afternoon as he imposed a 20 month sentence. “It’s a serious charge and when I look at the history and characteristics…all of the criminal offenses you have had in your life is a lot…just a ton.”

“But I’m impressed that the Government, the defense and probation seem to have a lot of faith in you and they think that you’re ready to turn a corner and be the kind of dad you want to be with your kids and support your community in a positive way.”