Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
St. Paul Felon Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Illegally Possessing a Firearm
MINNEAPOLIS – A St. Paul man was sentenced to 60 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for illegally possessing a firearm as a felon, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.
According to court documents, on February 5, 2019, officers with the St. Paul Police Department observed Michael Antonio Miller, 38, and his girlfriend leave a residence and drive away together in a vehicle. At the time, there was an active Domestic Abuse No Contact Order in place between Miller and his girlfriend. The officers initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle. As officers approached the driver’s side of the vehicle where the girlfriend was seated, she opened the center console and moved some papers out of the way to reveal a loaded Smith and Wesson, .40 caliber pistol. In an interview following his arrest, Miller admitted that the firearm was his. Because of his prior felony convictions in Ransey and Hennepin Counties, Miller is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition at any time.
Miller was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis, Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after he was sentenced.
This case was 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 investigations conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the St. Paul Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samantha H. Bates and Ruth S. Shnider prosecuted the case.
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