St. Paul Armed Career Criminal Sentenced To 210 Months In Prison For Illegal Possession Of A Firearm

According to court documents, on January 16, 2019, Saint Paul police officers responded to a shooting incident near Charles Avenue in St. Paul. Four gunshots were fired at a house, which was occupied by two adults and a two-year old child, penetrating the walls and windows. Officers were able to recover the four 9mm shell casings from the scene. The following day, law enforcement located a Buick Lucerne, registered to Curtis AJ Harrell, 30, that was at the scene of the shooting. Following a search of the vehicle and Harrell’s apartment, law enforcement recovered a loaded Glock 26 9mm firearm with a 17-round extended magazine in the center console of the vehicle and a 50-round 9mm extended drum magazine and live 9mm ammunition inside the apartment.

Investigators test fired the recovered Glock firearm and entered the resulting cartridge casing into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which linked the firearm to the discharged casings recovered from the scene of the shooting. NIBIN also linked the firearm to discharged casings from three other incidents, including two occurring within the previous month. In his plea agreement, Harrell admitted to possessing the firearm that was used to shoot at the house.

Because he has multiple prior felony convictions, Harrell is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.

“This individual has a long history of carrying guns and committing violent felonies,” said Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk. “Thanks to the hard work of investigators and the use of NIBIN technology, this armed career criminal is off the streets.”

This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.

Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk for the District of Minnesota made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz sentenced the defendant.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Saint Paul Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan H. Nelson prosecuted the case.