Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Moorhead Felon Pleads Guilty to Possession of a Loaded Firearm in his Home
Child was accidently shot and killed with defendant’s gun
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Moorhead man pleaded guilty today to illegally possessing a firearm in his residence after a minor was shot and killed with his gun, announced Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk.
According to court documents, on March 2, 2021, Phillip Neal Jones, Jr., 34, possessed a Walther .40 caliber pistol in his Moorhead residence. While Jones was away from the residence, a visiting child found the loaded gun under a large snack chip box in the kitchen. The gun went off, hitting and killing a second child.
Jones has multiple prior felony convictions in Hennepin and Anoka Counties and therefore is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
This case is the result of investigations conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Moorhead Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amber M. Brennan is prosecuting the case.