Miklos Terrel DATES Jr., Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Minnesota 2020

A St. Paul man with a rap sheet spanning multiple Minnesota counties is back behind bars, facing federal heat for illegally packing heat. Miklos Terrel DATES, Jr., 25, was indicted this week on one count of felon in possession of a firearm, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today.

DATES, a three-time convicted felon out of Ramsey County, Blue Earth County, and federal court, is banned under federal law from owning or handling any firearm or ammunition. Yet, on June 19, 2020, he allegedly possessed a Diamondback Model DB9 9mm semiautomatic pistol—triggering the federal charge that now lands him in federal custody.

He was taken into custody earlier today and appeared before Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson in U.S. District Court in St. Paul. Ordered held without bond, DATES awaits a formal detention and arraignment hearing scheduled for August 24, 2020, at 4:30 pm, in the same courtroom.

The bust emerged from a coordinated takedown by the Twin Cities Violent Crime Task Force—an aggressive coalition pooling resources from the St. Paul Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the United States Marshals Service. The task force targets repeat offenders tied to gun violence across the metro.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Calhoun-Lopez is prosecuting the case, underscoring the federal government’s crackdown on armed felons driving violent crime. The indictment is the latest salvo in a broader push to disrupt illegal gun circulation in high-risk communities.

The charges against Miklos Terrel DATES, Jr. are allegations. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. For more on the Twin Cities Violent Crime Task Force, visit justice.gov.

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