The following is based on your complainant’s review of the reports of other officers and your complainant’s own investigation: In April 2025, a traffic stop was conducted on the defendant, SAMSON CHU ([DOB REDACTED]), in the parking lot of Sun Foods, southeast of Dale St. And University Ave. In St. Paul, Ramsey County. He was found with narcotics and a firearm. On August 13, he was convicted of Violation of Controlled Substance Laws in the Fourth Degree in connection with the incident (Case No. ••-CR-••-••••). About two weeks later, on August 26 at about 11:20am, a St. Paul Police officer on patrol observed a group of about eight people at the northwest corner of Dale and Aurora Ave., a short distance west from the Sun Foods lot.
They appeared to be experiencing homelessness, and the officer recognized them as regular users of fentanyl. The officer then observed a cleanly-dressed man approaching the group on foot while carrying a shoulder bag. He led them down Aurora, where the officer briefly lost sight of them. The officer then saw that several of the group members appeared to be smoking narcotics. The officer circled around and found the cleanly- dressed man walking on the sidewalk. The officer approached the man, who fled on foot eastbound toward Sun Foods.
He climbed over a fence, dropped the shoulder bag beside a dumpster, and then began to run through the store lot. He was apprehended and identified as the defendant. In the lot, where the defendant had been running, officers found a loaded handgun. The shoulder bag was recovered. Inside was a baggie containing suspected narcotics, as well as more plastic baggies, plastic gloves, and a digital scale. In a presumptive test, the substance contained in the baggie recovered from the bag tested positive for the presence of cocaine, with a total net weight of 0.37 grams.
A buccal sample of the defendant’s DNA was obtained pursuant to a warrant. But there was insufficient DNA on the gun to be able to make a comparison. In a Mirandized interview, the defendant admitted to possession of the baggie (though he identified the contents as fentanyl rather than cocaine). He denied possession of the handgun. In addition to the conviction for Violation of Controlled Substance Laws in the Fourth Degree, the defendant’s criminal record also includes a conviction for Aiding Offender to Avoid Arrest; that case too involved possession of a firearm (Case No. ••-CR-••-••••).
