Category: Criminal Defense

In 2010, a man was charged with threatening federal officers with a gun. The Legal Intelligencer reports that the agents were in an unmarked car performing surveillance in an area known for heavy drug activity. The man claimed he was concerned for his safety, and he was unaware the men were federal officers. He then walked toward the car holding a gun and was subsequently arrested, convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison

In August, a 33-year-old Minnesota man led local officials on a 30-mile high-speed chase. According to the Red Lake Nation News, law enforcement noticed the man driving nearly 20 miles an hour over the speed limit on the highway. When troopers attempted to pull over the driver, he accelerated and, according to law enforcement, was swerving into oncoming traffic. Eventually, the man lost control of the vehicle, got out of the car and started threatening officers, who eventually placed him under arrest.

In 1983, two teenagers were accused of rape and murder. The Huffington Post reported that the two young men, both mentally handicapped, admitted to the crime but later recanted the confessions and stated that they were coerced. However, a jury found the young men guilty, and they spent three decades in prison before their convictions were overturned.

When a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, people watching the news may have noticed local law enforcement units utilizing gear that is usually reserved for members of the military. NPR reported that members of law enforcement had assault rifles, wore protective, military-style gear and even rolled through the streets in armored vehicles.

In January of this year, an African American man from St. Paul was sitting on a bench inside a bank as he waited to pick up his children from daycare. CNN reports that a security officer told the man to leave the area, alleging that it was for employees only though there were no signs marking it as private. Additional law enforcement were called in and told the man he was going to jail.

Recently, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was indicted on child abuse charges for an incident that occurred while he was disciplining his child. According to the Houston Chronicle, the indictment has called attention to the way a jury is selected in the state of Texas, which can either be done at random or under the supervision of a court-appointed commissioner. For Peterson’s grand jury hearing, the chief deputy county clerk was tasked with the process of finding jurors. As an assistant professor of criminal justice notes, the clerk is considered a work associate of the district attorney, which means he may have been influenced during jury selection.

People in Minnesota who want to own a gun do not need a permit to have it in their home or business, or even when traveling between their home, business, where the gun was purchased or a repair shop. However, carrying the weapon elsewhere does require that the gun owner go through the appropriate steps to acquire a permit.

In 2012, a millionaire was robbed, bounded and suffocated. According to the San Jose Mercury News, a homeless man’s DNA was found under the victim’s fingernail, and the man was arrested on a murder charge. However, his attorney was able to prove that not only did the man not commit the crime, but he was never even at the scene.