Deputies searching a stopped Chevrolet Tahoe in south Minneapolis found loaded guns, cocaine, methamphetamine and thousands in cash, prosecutors say.
Saaundre Julian Burns, 44, of Brooklyn Park, faces three felony charges: two counts of first-degree drug sale and one count of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
According to the complaint, deputies on patrol near Chicago Avenue and East 21st Street just after midnight on Sept. 26 saw a Tahoe stopped in the wrong lane with its lights on and expired registration. After stopping the vehicle, deputies identified Burns as the driver, with a male passenger in the front seat and a female passenger in the back seat.
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Deputies arrested the female passenger after learning she had multiple warrants. A search of her purse turned up drug paraphernalia, a methamphetamine pipe with residue and suspected loose methamphetamine and cocaine. Based on these findings, deputies searched the vehicle and pat frisked both men.
Deputies found a loaded firearm on the male passenger’s waistband and another loaded pistol in a bag on the front passenger floor. Under the driver’s seat, they recovered a stolen pistol with a loaded magazine and a round in the chamber. In the center console, deputies found 58.26 grams of marijuana, and another 7 grams on the male passenger.
Inside the locked glovebox, deputies discovered 27.6 grams of cocaine, 11.45 grams of cocaine packaged into 36 bindles, 14.38 grams (37 pills) of suspected MDMA that tested positive for methamphetamine, and 26.7 grams of pink powder that tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl. They also recovered plastic baggies, a digital scale, black latex gloves, and three cellphones belonging to each man.
Deputies seized $621 in cash from Burns and $7,784 from the male passenger. The complaint says the cash and phones indicate both men were selling drugs.
The male passenger admitted to possessing both firearms found near him and said he was unemployed. The complaint says Burns has prior felony convictions for first-degree possession in 2014 and second-degree sale in 2018.
The charges against Burns include two counts of first-degree drug sale, one for selling 17 grams or more of cocaine or methamphetamine within a 90-day period, and another for selling 10 grams or more of cocaine or methamphetamine while possessing a firearm, as well as possessing a firearm after a conviction for a crime of violence.
The charges were filed Sept. 29 in Hennepin County District Court.
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Jurisdictional Context
Hennepin County is Minnesota’s most populous jurisdiction. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office handles felony prosecutions across Minneapolis and 44 other cities; the Fourth Judicial District presides over felony arraignments and trials at the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis.
