Charges: 3 Minn. Men In Plateless Vehicle Caught With Firearms, Weapons Amid May 31 Mpls. Unrest
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Three Minnesota men face charges of rioting after police allegedly caught them driving in a plateless car with firearms during the May 31 unrest in Minneapolis.
On Tuesday, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office identified the men as 22-year-old Augustine Livingstone of Ramsey, 24-year-old Junior Smith of Rochester and 29-year-old Peter Shin of St. Paul. All three face one felony count of second-degree riot with a dangerous weapon.
According to the criminal complaint, Minneapolis police officers were responding to reports of looting and possession of a firearm in the area of Pillsbury Avenue and Lake Street at around 12:50 a.m. on May 31. A curfew was in effect.
While officers patrolled the streets, they observed a dark Mercedes sedan with no visible license plate driving down Lake Street at a high rate of speed. Taking evasive actions, the police officers ordered the car to stop with guns drawn and the vehicle halted, the complaint said.
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All four men inside the vehicle were ordered to get out. Livingstone was driving, Smith was in the front passenger seat, and Shin was in the backseat with an additional occupant identified as N.H. in the complaint.
Police say Smith was carrying a loaded pistol in his waistband and had a backpack containing a hammer and spray paint. Shin allegedly had a backpack containing a firearm and an electric grinding tool.
According to the complaint, none of the men lived in the vicinity or provided a valid reason to be in the area after curfew. All three Minnesota men told police where they lived. The unidentified male, who has not been charged, said he lived in Portland, Oregon and came to see the protests.
If the men are all convicted, they could face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
More than 480 people were arrested in the Twin Cities over the weekend. Public safety officials did not specify how many of the weekend arrests were of people violating curfew, rather than riot, looting or arson.
Also not specified was how many of those arrested were out of state, as leaders over the weekend told reporters that those responsible for much of the chaos last week were thought to be outside agitators. Leaders later walked those statements back after early analysis showed that most of the people arrested were from Minnesota.
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