A lifelong violent offender recently residing in the Uptown Minneapolis area is suspected of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and admitted as much to law enforcement authorities, according to an affidavit filed in federal court this week.
The subject of the affidavit, 29-year-old Clinton Reginald Brown, Jr., has been registered as a predatory offender since the age of 14 following a sexual assault conviction and has several other violent felony convictions under his belt as an adult, according to state court documents and records.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office posted on social media this week about the arrest of Brown following search warrants executed by their Violent Offender Task Force and said that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had subsequently filed charges.
The federal affidavit details that Brown’s Minneapolis residences on the 2800 block of Fremont Avenue South and the 3900 block of Dupont Avenue North along with his vehicle were searched under warrants as part of an investigation into Brown for narcotics sales and illegal possession of firearms.
Seized during the searches were 3,050 fentanyl pills and 6.8 grams of fentanyl powder along with two handguns, one of which had no serial number and was equipped with an auto-sear, which renders it capable of firing automatically.
During the warrant search at the Uptown address on Fremont, Brown attempted to flee by jumping from the fourth-floor balcony of the apartment unit. He was eventually detained on a neighbor’s balcony. Brown had in his possession a powder substance that field tested positive for fentanyl and over $1,300 in cash in his pockets. Upon booking into Hennepin County Jail, another bag of suspected narcotics that field tested positive for fentanyl was found on Brown’s person.
The federal affidavit explains that multiple children and adults were present inside the Fremont Avenue apartment at the time of the search where a large bag of “M30” pills were found inside a purse, and the “ghost gun” was found inside a nightstand in the main bedroom.
The woman in whose purse the pills were found said she had just met Brown the day prior and had stayed at the apartment with him that night. She said she didn’t know the pills were in her purse and suspected Brown had put them there.
In a post-arrest interview, Brown told law enforcement that he stays at the Fremont Avenue apartment occasionally, but the recovered gun was not his. He said he had handled the gun previously and that he had “much better” guns. Brown admitted the fentanyl pills were his and that he was distributing them.
State court records show that at the time of his arrest, Brown also had an active Hennepin County felony warrant for failure comply with predatory offender registration requirements.
Forensic DNA tests are pending on swabs taken from the adults at the residence, which could link the “ghost gun” to Brown, potentially resulting in additional charges.
Brown remained in federal custody late Thursday, but documents filed in the federal case indicate that Brown could be released on a personal recognizance bond and placed on home detention as the case proceeds.
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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.
