Seven Minneapolis men are facing federal charges for carjacking, illegally possessed firearms and ammunition, and drug trafficking, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced last week.
Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Kovats announced the various charges against Albert Walter Bratton III, Marion Quintel Ware, Namiri Love Laquandas Tanner, Shamar Jamareus Scott, Anthony Shaquan Kemp, Devon Martell Harmon, and Tiray Yvonne Dyson.
The latter four — Scott, Kemp, Harmon, and Dyson — have been charged with illegal possession of a firearm or ammunition as a felon, according to the office’s press release.
19-year-old Marion Quintel Ware has been charged with one count of aiding and abetting a carjacking after he stole a 2007 Ford Focus in June 2021. Court documents say Ware used “force, violence, and intimidation” against his victim.
As for 26-year-old Albert Walter Bratton III, he’s been charged with one count of carrying a firearm while engaging in drug trafficking and one count of cocaine possession with intent to distribute, both of which stemmed from a June 2021 incident where Minneapolis police busted up a cocaine sale.
According to court documents, Bratton allegedly tossed a small bag of cocaine while running from police that ended up weighing 7.6 grams. Another small bag found in Bratton’s pants pocket contained 14 baggies of cocaine that altogether weighed 2.4 grams.
In a sworn affidavit FBI special agent Nicholas Marshall said most crack cocaine sold on the street is one or two-tenths of a gram for $10 and $20 respectively. Extrapolating that out, the estimated value of the cocaine Bratton is accused of possessing is $1,000.
“Over the last two to three years, Minneapolis Police investigators have purchased crack cocaine at or near the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Chicago Avenue South, paying $10 for one-tenth of a gram, or $20 for two-tenths of a gram,” the affidavit reads. “The crack cocaine was packaged similarly to the items Bratton had in his pocket.”
Marshall said police were surveilling the area where Bratton was arrested because of “increased gang activity along with numerous recent instances of violence.”
Lastly, 21-year-old Namiri Love Laquandas Tanner has been charged with one count of machine gun possession. In July 2021 Tanner was found with a “.40-caliber Glock pistol with a high-capacity magazine, equipped with an attached conversion device, commonly known as a ‘glock switch’ or ‘auto-sear'” in his possession — something legally classified as a machine gun under federal law.
The federal indictments of these seven men come just months after Alpha News reported on the apparent prevalence of machine guns among Minneapolis criminals, many of whom purportedly have gang ties.
The U.S. government has prohibited the sale of new machine guns since 1986, so it is unlikely that any further “gun control” measures in the city of Minneapolis will have any sort of positive effect.
Evan Stambaugh
Evan Stambaugh is a freelance writer who had previously been a sports blogger. He has a BA in theology and an MA in philosophy.
