News and Press Releases
St. Paul felon sentenced for possessing a firearm and
possessing with intent to distribute ecstasy and marijuana
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 6, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS – Yesterday in federal court, a 38-year-old St. Paul felon was sentenced
for possessing with intent to distribute marijuana and the semi-synthetic psychedelic drug
MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy. United States District Court Judge John R. Tunheim
sentenced Samuel Lamont Seals to 82 months in prison on one count of possession with intent to
distribute marijuana and MDMA, along with one count of being a felon in possession of a
firearm. Seals was indicted on January 19, 2011, and pleaded guilty on May 2, 2011.
In his plea agreement, Seals admitted that on June 23, 2010, during the execution of a search
warrant at his residence, police found 361 tablets of ecstasy, 316 grams of marijuana, and a
digital scale. They also recovered a .40-caliber, semi-automatic pistol, loaded with 11 rounds of
ammunition and a separate magazine containing another 11 rounds of ammunition. Police saw
Seals flee the residence in a vehicle. He was arrested following a high-speed chase.
Because he is a felon, Seals is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition at any
time. His prior Ramsey County convictions include second-degree burglary (1992), fifth-degree
possession of a controlled substance (1993), dangerous discharge of a firearm (1993), and
possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (1997). Seals also was convicted of first-degree
manslaughter in Dakota County (2003) and introducing contraband into prison in Chisago
County (2005).
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.
Attorney Thomas M. Hollenhorst.
