On April 10, 2025, an officer was conducting stationary patrol near 63rd Avenue North and Orchard Avenue North in Brooklyn Center, Hennepin County, Minnesota. The officer observed a dark colored pickup truck driving east on 63rd Avenue North at a high speed that the officer visually estimated exceeded the 30- m.p.h. Speed limit. Using his LIDAR device, the officer clocked the vehicle traveling 48 m.p.h. In a 30-m.p.h. Zone. As the vehicle passed the officer’s squad, the officer noted that it had different license plates displayed on the front and the rear.
The officer pulled out and began to follow the vehicle. While behind the vehicle, the officer noted that the sole occupant and driver appeared to be reaching over to the passenger side of the vehicle. The officer performed a traffic stop on the vehicle. The officer identified the driver and sole occupant as Defendant OTIS JOHNSON, III, born on [DOB REDACTED]. Defendant was listed as one of the registered owners of the vehicle. While speaking with Defendant, the officer could smell and could see what the officer believed was marijuana shake.
The officer noted small flakes and tiny chunks of suspected marijuana not in proper packaging in the center console. When the officer asked Defendant to exit the vehicle, he started yelling and arguing. Inside the vehicle, officers observed a black handgun with its muzzle facing forward underneath the front passenger seat. The firearm was loaded. During transport to jail, Defendant volunteered that the gun was not his and that it belonged to his son. Due to a prior felony conviction that equates to a crime of violence in Minnesota, Defendant is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition: • August 1, 2000 conviction for Unlawful Possession With Intent to Sell Over 0.5 Grams of Cocaine in Shelby County, Tennessee, court file 00-0144. Defendant’s probation was revoked in December 2004. Swabs from the firearm’s textured grip, slide serrations, and textured buttons revealed a DNA profile interpreted as a mixture from four individuals.
The major male DNA profile matched Defendant. The probability of observing this DNA profile is 100 billion times more likely if a mixture of DNA from Defendant and three unknown, unrelated individuals is the source than if a mixture of DNA from four unknown, unrelated individuals is the source. Defendant is not in custody. He is charged in Ramsey County with Ineligible Person in Possession of a Firearm in court file # ••-CR-••-••••.
