Jeremy Ray Meeks

JEREMY RAY MEEKS

 Jeremy Ray Meeks (born February 7, 1984) is an American fashion model. A former member of the Crips street gang, Meeks was arrested in 2014 during a gang sweep called Operation Ceasefire in Stockton, California, after which police posted his mugshot on Facebook, which went viral due to his appearance. He was convicted on federal charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and grand theft. Meeks' mugshot was noticed by modeling agencies and, upon his release from Mendota Federal Correctional Institution in March 2016, he began a modeling career.

In 2002, Meeks was charged with robbery and corporal injury to a child, assaulting a 16-year-old boy when he was 18. He was sentenced to serve two years in a California prison, during which he admitted to claiming the North Side Gangster Crips.

In June 18, 2014, Stockton Police Department arrested Meeks and three other men in a multi-agency law enforcement mission dubbed Operation Ceasefire. Meeks was listed as a "convicted felon, arrested for felony weapon charges".[9] He denied the charges. The same day, Meeks' and the other men's mugshots were posted on the Stockton Police Department's Facebook page. Within 24 hours from when the photos were posted to the department's page, Meeks' photo had acquired more than 15,000 "likes" and 3,700 comments mostly from women enamored with his looks. The next day, on June 19, news and entertainment site BuzzFeed recognized Meeks' mugshot as a "meme". On Friday, June 20, Twitter fans created the hashtag "#feloncrushfriday" in honor of Meeks' mugshot. Stockton Police Department spokesman Joe Silva acknowledged that the mugshot had received more attention than any other mugshot since they launched the Facebook page in 2012. As of April 2021, the post has received 95,000 "likes", 24,000 comments, and 11,000 shares.

A July 2014 court hearing was set, while Meeks awaited his trial at the San Joaquin County Jail, with his bail set at $1,050,000. Meeks' mother, Katherine Angier, set up a GoFundMe page in an attempt to raise money for his bail. His sister, Leanna Rominger, used the proceeds from the campaign to hire a defense lawyer for him.

On July 3, 2014, a Northern California Grand Jury indicted Meeks on a charge of possession of a semiautomatic .45 caliber pistol that was transported across state borders in the commission of Grand Theft. The state dropped its charges against Meeks and his case was handed over to federal prosecutors

On February 5, 2015, Meeks was convicted by a federal judge of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. The judge further ordered Meeks to participate in the 500-Hour Bureau of Prisons Substance Abuse Treatment Program. He was incarcerated at Mendota Federal Correctional Institution.

 Meeks served 13 months of the sentence, and was released from prison March 8, 2016, after which he was ordered to reside in a transitional housing facility for a few weeks