A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 63 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for illegally possessing machine guns, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger announced earlier this month.
Antanie Syre Alonzo Johnson, 21, pleaded guilty in April of this year to unlawful possession of machine guns in two separate instances in 2023, while he was under supervision by Hennepin County Court for illegally possessing a firearm in yet another case.
Johnson had pled guilty in October 2022 in Hennepin County District Court to a gross misdemeanor count of carrying a pistol without a permit. Under the terms of a plea agreement, the case was to remain unadjudicated for two years under the conditions that Johnson complete a diversion program and have no further similar weapons-related offenses while he remained under supervision.
Just four months later on Feb. 8, 2023, law enforcement observed a silver Mazda CX9 commit multiple traffic violations and attempted a traffic stop, according to federal and Hennepin County court documents. The vehicle fled at a high rate of speed, abruptly stopped to allow three occupants to flee on foot, and then drove away.
Johnson was one of the individuals who fled on foot. Law enforcement quickly located Johnson running through an adjacent parking lot, and he ultimately surrendered and informed officers that he was armed. Law enforcement subsequently recovered two firearms, a stolen 9 mm Glock and a 9 mm “ghost gun” or a “privately made firearm” (PMF). Both weapons were fully loaded with extended magazines and equipped with “switches” that allowed the firearms to be fired as fully-automatic weapons with a single pull of the trigger.
Court documents in that case show that Johnson was conditionally released from custody at Hennepin County Jail in September 2023. On Nov. 8, 2023, law enforcement observed Johnson engaging in what appeared to be hand-to-hand drug transactions at 8th Street and Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. Officers attempted to engage Johnson, who fled on foot through a covered parking garage. A witness in the parking garage indicated Johnson had dropped something while he ran. Law enforcement recovered a loaded 9 mm Glock equipped with a “switch.” In a subsequent search of Johnson’s backpack, agents also discovered 100 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, and cash.
U.S. District Court Judge Eric C. Tostrud sentenced Johnson Aug. 14 to a guidelines sentence and specifically admonished him for squandering the rare opportunity that pre-sentence release had provided, the U.S. attorney’s press release said.
Unlike state sentencing, which only requires inmates to serve two-thirds or less of their sentence incarcerated, federal inmates must serve a minimum of 85% of their sentence before being considered for release.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Minneapolis Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
