News and Press Releases
Plymouth felon sentenced for possessing nine-millimeter pistol
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2012
MINNEAPOLIS – Earlier today 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 August 2, 2011.
In his plea agreement, Jones admitted that on November 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 (“PSN”), 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 work to make our communities safer.
