St. Paul Teen Sentenced After Crashing Into Resturant During Drive-By

ST. PAUL, MN — A 19-year-old St. Paul man was sentenced to 39 months in prison for illegal possession of a machine gun, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger announced.

Moeshea Isiah Hart's weapon was discovered when he crashed a stolen Jeep into a downtown Saint Paul bar and restaurant during a drive-by shooting.

Hart pleaded guilty on March 27. He was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court before Judge Jerry W. Blackwell.

On the afternoon of Feb. 15, 2023, St. Paul police responded to a shots-fired 911 call in the area of Luella Street North and Wilson Avenue, a densely populated residential neighborhood.

Witnesses heard automatic gunfire coming from a black Jeep that was apparently chasing another vehicle.

Officers tracked down the Jeep, which fled and led officers on a high-speed chase until it eventually hit another vehicle and crashed through the entirety of a restaurant in downtown St. Paul.

The restaurant was unoccupied at the time.

Hart and two others exited the Jeep and were detained.

Officers found a loaded Glock model 45 9mm pistol with an inserted high-capacity magazine and an attached switch on the floor of the restaurant, near the Jeep.

Approximately 11 9mm discharged cartridge casings were located in and around the driver’s area of the Jeep, authorities said.

Police later determined that the Jeep had been reported stolen from St. Paul in December 2022.