Demetrius Demarco Spencer, Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, Minnesota 2012

A convicted felon has been sentenced to 80 months in prison for possessing a firearm in Minneapolis.

Demetrius Demarco Spencer, a 30-year-old man from Minneapolis, was sentenced by United States District Chief Judge Michael J. Davis on an unknown date in federal court. He was originally indicted on November 14, 2012, and was convicted on January 16, 2013, of possessing a nine-millimeter, semi-automatic pistol.

The pistol was discovered on August 23, 2012, when officers were on routine patrol outside a Minneapolis nightclub and saw Spencer standing in the parking lot. He reached into his pants and removed an “L-shaped” item covered with a white sock and placed it under the front seat of a nearby car. Officers later recovered the item, the pistol, from inside the sock.

As a felon, Spencer is prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm at any time. His prior convictions include possession of a pistol by a prohibited person (2003), assault in the third degree (2007), and aggravated robbery (2007) in Hennepin County, as well as possession of a pistol by a prohibited person (2000) in Ramsey County.

The case was the result of an investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”). It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Newberry.

The case was charged federally through Project Exile Minneapolis, a law enforcement initiative launched on July 22, 2010, to reduce gun violence in the city. Through Project Exile, the Minneapolis Police Department and the ATF work together to apprehend serial criminals for violations of gun laws, and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office determine where those offenders will be prosecuted – state or federal court.

To date, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has brought charges against more than two dozen serious habitual criminals through Project Exile Minneapolis.

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