Derek Lee Preston, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Minnesota 2011

MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court in St. Paul, a 35-year-old felon from Maplewood pleaded guilty to possessing a loaded .32-caliber revolver. Derek Lee Preston pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Preston, who was indicted on April 12, 2011, entered his plea before United States District Court Judge Donovan W. Frank. In his plea agreement, Preston admitted that on January 25, 2011, he possessed the weapon while a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by Minneapolis Police.

Officers found the weapon while searching him, and also discovered 7.5 grams of marijuana and nearly four grams of crack cocaine. Because he is a felon, Preston is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.

Preston’s prior Hennepin County convictions include unlawful possession of a pistol (1997), attempted first-degree aggravated robbery (1997), fifth-degree controlled substance crimes (1999 and 2009), a second-degree controlled substance crime (2001), terroristic threats (2005), violation of a no-contact order (2009), attempted violation of a no-contact order (2009), and domestic assault (2010).

The U.S. contends that because at least three of these convictions constituted crimes of violence or serious drug offenses, Preston will be subject to the Armed Career Criminal Act in the current federal case. This act mandates a minimum of 15 years in prison for anyone convicted in federal court for being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition if they have three or more prior violent crime or serious drug convictions.

Judge Frank will determine Preston’s sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled. This case is the result of an investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department, and the Violent Crime Impact Team for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Surya Saxena and Andrew Dunne. The case was charged federally through Project Exile Minneapolis, a city-wide effort to reduce gun violence.

Through Project Exile, the Minneapolis Police Department and the ATF work together to apprehend serial criminals for violations of gun laws. Then, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office teams up with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to determine where those offenders will most effectively be prosecuted – state or federal court.

Those determinations are based on the offenders’ criminal histories and current charges, among other factors. To date, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has brought charges against more than a dozen serious habitual criminals through Project Exile Minneapolis.

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