DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Minnesota

For Immediate Release

Thursday, September 30, 2021
W. Anders Folk
, United States Attorney

Minneapolis Felon, Member of Tre Tre Crips Gang Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of a Firearm

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minneapolis man pleaded guilty today to illegally possessing a firearm as a felon, announced Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk.

According to court documents, on July 6, 2020, Donell Deon Flowers, 26, a member of the Tre Tre Crips gang, knowingly possessed a loaded Ruger LCP .380 semi-automatic pistol, with an obliterated serial number. The firearm was equipped with a large capacity magazine, capable of accepting more than 15 rounds of ammunition. Flowers is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time. He has multiple prior felony convictions in Hennepin County and one prior federal conviction for possession of a firearm as a felon.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Minneapolis Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan H. Nelson is prosecuting the case.

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St. Paul Field Division