Plymouth Felon Sentenced For Possessing Firearm

Yesterday in federal court, a 31-year-old Plymouth man was sentenced for being a felon in possession of a nine-millimeter pistol.

United States District Court Judge Patrick J. Schiltz sentenced Nieem Kalif Jones to 84 months in prison on one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. Jones was indicted on March 16, 2011, and pleaded guilty on Aug. 2, 2011.

In his plea agreement, Jones admitted that on Nov. 29, 2010, he possessed the pistol and attempted to sell it near the intersection of Dale Street and University Avenue in St. Paul.

The firearm, which was purchased two weeks earlier from an unlicensed dealer, had an obliterated serial number. When police arrested Jones, the gun was found wrapped in a white towel under the passenger’s seat of his car. Officers also recovered a small baggie of marijuana from Jones and found three baggies of crack cocaine inside a nylon bag hanging from the car’s steering column.

Because he has previous felony convictions, Jones is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms at any time. His prior convictions include assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting serious injury (1998); breaking and entering (1998); larceny (1999); and possession of a firearm by a felon (2001), all of which occurred in North Carolina. Jones also was convicted in Hennepin County in 2005 for theft by swindle.

This case was the result of an investigation by the St. Paul Police Department and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura M. Provinzino and Allen A. Slaughter.

Note, this case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, an initiative launched by the U.S. Justice Department in 2001 to promote a multi-jurisdictional, comprehensive approach to reducing gun crime in America. PSN provides resources to strengthen law enforcement and crime prevention partnerships that are working to make our streets and communities safer.

(The preceding information was provided by a United States Department of Justice United States Attorney's Office press release.)