Department of Justice

St. Paul, Minn. – Two Minneapolis felons were sentenced today for possessing a handgun with a large capacity magazine that could hold 50 rounds of ammunition, announced Acting United States Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court records, between April 30 and May 5, 2020, Travon Lavelle Blackman, 24, and Michael Eugene Hunter, 23, were in joint possession of a Glock, model 22, .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol, with an attached 50-round drum magazine.  Both men videotaped themselves and posted several of the recordings on social media of their brandishing the firearm (as well as other firearms) while making threatening gestures and statements. Because Blackman and Hunter both have prior felony convictions, they are prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.

U.S. District Court Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright sentenced Blackman to 70 months in prison and Hunter to 82 months in prison. Both men were sentenced to three years of supervised release that will begin upon their release from prison.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Minneapolis Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar prosecuted the case.

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