A Duluth man ran from officers arriving at a bar fight and threw a backpack holding a handgun under a deck, according to the complaint.
Terrence Murphy, 35, is charged in Saint Louis County District Court with two felonies, possessing a firearm after a conviction for a crime of violence and fifth-degree drug possession, along with a misdemeanor count of fleeing a peace officer on foot.
According to the complaint, Duluth officers were sent to a fight at Mr. D’s Bar in west Duluth on Oct. 30 and found it still going. As the first squad pulled up, Murphy backed away. When an officer got out and shouted for him to stop, Murphy ran around the building toward the parking lot.
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Officers chasing him saw him throw a backpack under a nearby deck, the complaint says. After he was in custody, they searched it and found a handgun. Murphy admitted the gun was his after being read his rights. The complaint says he has a prior felony conviction.
Before he was booked into jail, Murphy admitted he had drugs hidden on him, according to the complaint. Officers recovered six bindles of powder that field-tested positive for fentanyl, weighing 3.88 grams combined.
Related MN CRIME Coverage
Duluth Felon Charged After Firing into Crowded House, Hitting 2 • BCA Identifies Man Killed After Exchanging Gunfire With Deputies Near Duluth • 3 Charged After Search Reveals 4,000+ Fentanyl Pills, Guns, Cash
Jurisdictional Context
Saint Louis County is Minnesota’s largest county by area, stretching from Duluth to the Canadian border. The Saint Louis County Attorney’s Office prosecutes felonies through the Sixth Judicial District; cases are heard at courthouses in Duluth, Hibbing and Virginia.
