Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

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

According to court documents, on May 21, 2020, law enforcement arrested Deshawn Tyrone Braziel, 36, who had an outstanding warrant and was suspected in connection with a shooting that occurred in Minneapolis on April 16, 2020. At the time of his arrest, Braziel was wearing a backpack containing a loaded, Springfield XD 9mm pistol, 94 ecstasy pills, a credit card in his name, and a digital scale. Because Braziel has prior felony convictions, including a previous conviction for a drive-by shooting in 2005, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.

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, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Minneapolis Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Ethen is prosecuting the case.

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