After becoming a certified Crime and Intelligence Analyst through California State University/Fullerton, and the Whittier Police Department, Steve worked as a Firearms Crime Analyst contractor for ATF. There, he focused on firearm tracing and gun trafficking referrals, working at the Southern California Regional Crime Gun Center in Los Angeles, CA. Steve became an Intelligence Research Specialist with ATF in 2006, and provides major case support for ATF cases, as well as training for local agencies in Southern California (primarily involving firearm tracing & the use of trace data to identify gun traffickers). He was voted "Crime Analyst of the Year" by the Southern California Crime & Intelligence Analyst Association in 2009, and in March of 2014 was promoted to a temporary position as a Group Supervisor for the ATF Intelligence Group (the first "non-sworn" GS for ATF). Steve has supported 29 large-scale law enforcement operations at various command posts, and created numerous charts and spreadsheets to display the operational status in near real-time. Steve has 27 years of military service, which includes duty with the US Navy, Naval Reserves, California Army National Guard & the California State Military Reserve.