A 29-year-old Minneapolis man is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm after a gun discharged inside a Minneapolis gas station in March, damaging a deli cooler.
The suspect has been convicted twice before on the same charge.
Tristan James Klemer, also known as Tristan James Hernandez, was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and reckless discharge of a firearm within a municipality. He is currently in custody and under state supervision from a prior weapons conviction.
According to the criminal complaint, officers responded to a shots fired call at a Holiday gas station in the 600 block of 5th Street North on Saturday, March 21. The report indicated a firearm had been discharged inside the store. Officers found a .40-caliber discharged cartridge casing near the front entrance and damage to a deli cooler from gunfire.
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Surveillance footage showed Klemer and another person entering the store. Within five seconds of entering, Klemer manipulated his pocket and jumped like he was startled. He then ran to the exit and the gun fell out of his pocket onto the ground. He picked it up and ran out of the store, the court documents say.
On Tuesday, April 14, officers executed search warrants at Klemer’s residence in Albert Lea. In a post-Miranda statement, Klemer told officers there was a firearm inside the main bedroom in a black shoulder bag. Officers recovered a .40-caliber Taurus, consistent with the discharged casing found at the scene. Officers also located the clothing Klemer was wearing during the March 21 incident.
Klemer has an extensive criminal history. In 2016, he was convicted of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon in Steele County and sentenced to 39 months in prison. He was convicted of felon in possession of a firearm in a separate Steele County case the same year.
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In 2022, he was charged with felon in possession of a firearm after a bar fight in downtown Minneapolis. Officers found a gun without a serial number in his fanny pack and seven fentanyl pills in his underwear. He was convicted in that case in August 2022.
Klemer was also convicted of domestic assault by strangulation in 2021 and aiding and abetting simple robbery in 2015.
