Marcus Rashad Davis, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Minnesota 2013

MINNEAPOLIS—Marcus Rashad Davis, a 23-year-old Minneapolis man, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a .22-caliber pistol in federal court in St. Paul yesterday.

According to court documents, Davis specifically pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was indicted on January 22, 2013, and entered his plea before United States District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson.

In his plea agreement, Davis admitted that on June 15, 2012, he possessed the semi-automatic weapon. He was arrested after running from police, who were responding to a report of a man with a gun.

Due to his status as a felon, Davis is prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm at any time. His prior convictions include manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance (2008), possession with intent to deliver cannabis (2008), and burglary of a vehicle (2011), all in Illinois.

Davis faces a potential maximum penalty of ten years in prison. Judge Nelson will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled.

The case is the result of an investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Newberry as part of 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. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office then teams up with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to determine where those offenders will most effectively be prosecuted – state or federal court.

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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