Source: Office of United States Attorneys
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 72 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for illegally possessing a firearm as a felon, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
According to court documents, on June 11, 2024, an anonymous 911 caller reported that a man had threatened to shoot the caller’s boyfriend while riding the light-rail train in Minneapolis. The caller provided a physical description of the man, and said he was carrying a firearm in a blue nylon drawstring backpack. Police responded to the light-rail station at Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis where they saw a man, later identified as George Matthews IV, 34, who fit the caller’s description and was carrying a blue nylon drawstring backpack. Officers shouted at Matthews to stop, but instead, he fled the scene and abandoned the blue backpack as he ran. Inside the backpack, officers found a Kimber Micro 9mm pistol with one round of ammunition in the chamber and four rounds in the magazine. Matthews was arrested moments later while wearing a Smith & Wesson belt clip.
Because Matthews has prior felony convictions for aggravated robbery, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms.
Matthews pleaded guilty to one count of illegally possessing a firearm as a felon on September 11, 2024. He was sentenced on January 15, 2025, in U.S. District Court by Judge John R. Tunheim.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Metro Transit Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Forbes prosecuted the case.