Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Cass County Felon Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of an Unregistered Firearm
MINNEAPOLIS – A Cass County man has pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a short-barreled shotgun, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on July 8, 2021, John Jarrod Jones, 44, illegally possessed a 12-gauge short-barreled shotgun. Jones took the firearm into a restroom at the Cedar Lakes Casino and Hotel on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation and hid it behind a garbage can along with a plastic bag containing shotgun shells and a knife. Jones left the restroom and was later arrested in the Casino on unrelated charges.
Because Jones has several prior felony convictions in Hennepin and Cass County, he is prohibited from lawfully possessing any firearms or ammunition. Jones pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Eric C. Tostrud to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Leech Lake Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily A. Polachek and LeeAnn K. Bell are prosecuting the case.