Concord Man escaped jail thanks to ‘particularly impressive’ behavior after being released in federal gun case

OAKLAND—A Concord man avoided federal prison after prosecutors convinced a judge he was “superior” during his pretrial release in a custody replacement program, court records show.

Chris Vezucha, 28, was arrested two years ago and charged with felony possession of an AM-15 rifle. However, he was released to a program in Oakland instead of pretrial detention.

In the sentencing memo, prosecutors made the unusual move of praising Bezucha’s “particularly impressive” behavior during his release and did not request an additional period of detention. His attorney wrote in a note that Bezucha was struggling with drug addiction when he was arrested in 2020.

Bezucha was arrested after a traffic stop when police searched the Concord trailer where he lived and found a rifle. Records show that he was not cleared to carry a gun due to a criminal record for assault.

“At this point there is no going back,” Bezucha told the probation officer, according to the defense’s sentencing memo. “There are so many opportunities to do what I do here, and I’m not going to screw it up.”