MINNEAPOLIS – Clenest Demon Wells Jr., 28, faced a federal judge on charges that included illegally possessing firearms as a felon and carrying a machine gun, with the sentence handed down being a severe 116-month imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release. The Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson made it clear, “Minneapolis belongs to families, not felons like Wells who terrorize its streets.”
Wells was convicted on all four counts following a trial where evidence showed he had been caught with firearms three times between 2020 and 2023. The incidents included threatening a fellow bus passenger with a HiPoint 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol in April 2020, being found with a Springfield Model XD9 pistol during a traffic stop in May 2022, and fleeing law enforcement with an automatic machinegun and drugs on July 30, 2023. Wells’ Glock pistol was equipped with a switch conversion device for fully automatic firing mode.
Wells has six prior felony convictions, including attacks on law enforcement officers while in jail. “The amount of gun violence we are having in Minnesota is just off the charts,” Judge Donovan W. Frank noted during the sentencing hearing.
This conviction follows an investigation by the FBI, Minneapolis Police Department, Metro Transit Police Department, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David B. Green and Syngen Kanassatega led the prosecution.
Related Federal Cases
- Jackson Felon Pleads Guilty to Gun Possession · Mississippi
- St. Paul Felon ‘Storm’ Held on Heroin, 6-Gun Cache Charge · Minnesota
- Minneapolis Felon Pleads Guilty to Illegal Gun Possession · Minnesota
- La Crosse Felon Gets 5-Year Sentence for Gun Possession · Wisconsin
- La Crosse Felon Gets 5-Year Sentence for Gun Possession · Wisconsin
Key Facts
- State: Minnesota
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime|Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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