Fridley Convicted Felon Charged with Illegally Possessing Handgun

A Fridley man has been charged with illegally possessing a firearm after police say they caught him running through north Minneapolis carrying ammunition and dropping a semiautomatic handgun as he ran.

Byron Jaquan Brown, 20, is charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, a felony with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of three years in prison.

According to the criminal complaint, signed by Minneapolis Police Officer Shawn Brandt, police were called to investigate a report of shots fired in the area of 35th and Girard Avenues North on Oct. 16.

When they arrived, police spotted a man—later identified as Brown—running from the area, grabbing at the waistband of his pants as he ran, according to the complaint. The man matched the description that police were given of the person who fired the shots.

Officers chased Brown as he ran west and jumped over a fence, catching up with him in a nearby yard. When they searched him, they found several rounds of .25-caliber ammunition from his pocket.

When police retraced the route that Brown took when he fled, they found a black .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun and a pair of gloves in a yard, according to the complaint.

Brown was convicted in 2010 of aggravated first-degree robbery and was sentenced to two years in prison. Because he is a convicted felon, it is illegal for him to possess firearms.

Brown remains in the Hennepin County Jail on a $50,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Nov. 27 in Hennepin County District Court.