Source: Office of United States Attorneys
MINNEAPOLIS – A federal jury found a St. Paul man guilty of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and illegal possession of a firearm as a felon, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
According to evidence presented at trial, on April 19, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at an apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota, that Eric Marcel Turner, a.k.a. Xavier Thomas, 39, rented using an alias. In the apartment, officers found over 300 grams of fentanyl and a loaded firearm.
Because Turner has multiple prior felony convictions, including a federal drug trafficking offense, for which he served several years in federal prison, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
Following a three-day trial before Judge Katherine M. Menendez in U.S. District Court, a jury found Turner guilty of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the West Metro Drug Trask Force, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett S. Fields and Allen A. Slaughter tried the case.