Department of Justice

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minneapolis man was sentenced to 84 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for possessing a stolen firearm, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, on June 23, 2021, Minneapolis Police officers responded to a shots fired call. Upon arrival, officers witnessed a man, Brandon Xavier Coyour, 31, fleeing the scene. As he fled, Coyour pulled a gun from his waistband and hid it in the wheel well of a parked car. Officers saw Coyour stash the gun and recovered it from the wheel well. Officers apprehended Coyour a couple blocks away from the scene. The gun, a Springfield XD-9 9mm semiautomatic handgun, had been reported stolen one month prior by its owner in Menominee, Wisconsin. Coyour is also a convicted felon and is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.

On April 12, 2022, Coyour pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a stolen firearm. Coyour was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Paul A. Magnuson. In handing down the sentence, Judge Magnuson emphasized that convicted felons “will pay a very steep penalty” for possessing firearms.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson prosecuted the case.