Maple Grove Felon Sentenced for Illegal Possession of Firearms
MINNEAPOLIS (WJON News) – A Maple Grove man has been sentenced to over two years in prison for illegal possession of firearms.
According to court documents, in January of 2022, brothers were both charged in Hennepin County District Court for possession of machine guns after they brought to the funeral of a known gang member firearms that had each been modified with auto sears. An auto sear, also known as a switch, is a device used to convert a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic firearm and is considered a machinegun under federal law.
In the spring of 2022, both Cortez and Quantez Ward pleaded guilty to their Hennepin County charges and were released on terms of probation.
On May 6, 2022, the brothers were pulled over by the Maple Grove police department. During that traffic stop, Cortez Ward was in possession of an unserialized Polymer 80 pistol with a large-capacity magazine loaded with 19 rounds of ammunition on his person.
Quantez Ward had an AK-style gun in a backpack in the car.
On July 19, 2022, law enforcement executed a federal arrest warrant at the Ward brothers’ residence. Inside, law enforcement found multiple firearms, including a 9mm Ruger rifle, a H&K MP5 rifle and a Polymer 80 pistol with a switch.
On November 21, 2022, Quantez Ward pleaded guilty to one count of possession of firearms as a felon related to several of the firearms recovered on July 19, 2022. He was sentenced Wednesday.
Cortez Ward will be sentenced at a later date.
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