Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

MINNEAPOLIS – A federal jury convicted a Minneapolis man of illegally possessing a firearm as a felon while on probation for a prior federal firearms conviction, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

Following a two-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge Eric C. Tostrud, Demetrius Demarco Spencer, 38, was convicted yesterday afternoon of a single count of possessing a firearm as a felon. A sentencing date will be scheduled at a later time.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on July 22, 2020, at approximately 2:30 a.m., a St. Paul police officer encountered a man who was visibly distressed walking through a residential neighborhood. The man told the officer that he had been inside a residence with Spencer and Spencer’s girlfriend when Spencer became upset with the man. The man explained that Spencer had pulled out a gun, pointed it at the man and threatened him. St. Paul police officers went to the residence and found Spencer inside the house, wrestling his girlfriend. Officers were able to intervene in the struggle and take Spencer into custody. Officers recovered a Kahr model PM9, 9mm semi-automatic handgun that was on the floor in close proximity to where the struggle took place.  

Spencer has multiple prior felony convictions in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, and one prior federal conviction. In January 2013, Spencer was convicted in federal court in the District of Minnesota on one count of possession of a firearm as a felon and was sentenced to 80 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the St. Paul Police Department.

This case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allison K. Ethen and Thomas Calhoun-Lopez.