Minnesota Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possession of a Firearm as a Felon and Possession of Methamphetamine with the Intent to Deliver

A Minnesota man who was caught with nearly 14 ounces of high purity methamphetamine and a loaded handgun was sentenced August 25, 2020 to more than 13 years in federal prison.

Marcus Jones, age 32, from St. Paul, Minnesota received the prison term after a guilty plea to one count of possession with intent to deliver 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

In a plea agreement, Jones admitted that on December 12, 2019, knowing he was a felon, possessed a Jennings .25 caliber pistol and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver the methamphetamine.

On December 6, 2019 police conducted a traffic stop in Mason City, IA.  The driver of the vehicle, Marcus Jones, fled on foot.  Jones was not apprehended at that time but later was arrested on December 12, 2019 after again attempting to flee from police.  At the time of his arrest, Jones had eight individually wrapped packages of ice methamphetamine that he intended to distribute, and a loaded pistol hidden in his center console.

Jones was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Jones was sentenced to 162 months’ imprisonment for possession with the intent to deliver methamphetamine and 120 months’ for possession of a firearm as a felon, to be served concurrently.  He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Jones is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jack Lammers and investigated by the Cerro Gordo Sheriff’s Office, Mason City Police Department, Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, and the North Central Iowa Drug Task Force. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 19-cr-3058.

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