Ham Lake Felon Sentenced to Prison for Cocaine Distribution, Firearms Violations
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Ham Lake man has been sentenced to 114 months in prison for illegally possessing multiple firearms and possessing cocaine with intent to distribute it, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on September 13, 2019, officers with the St. Paul Police Department executed a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Steven Michael Lincoln, age 35. After observing a large bag of marijuana on the front passenger seat, officers asked Lincoln to exit the vehicle. Officers searched the vehicle and recovered a small baggie containing cocaine, a loaded Ruger .380-caliber pistol, a loaded Kimber .45-caliber pistol, multiple sandwich bags of prepackaged marijuana, a digital scale, $986 in cash, 10 vials containing varying amounts of cocaine, and two additional baggies of cocaine each containing about 3.5 grams.
According to court documents, on January 4, 2020, officers with the St. Paul Police Department observed Lincoln asleep in the driver’s seat of a pickup truck parked in an alleyway. After asking Lincoln to exit the vehicle, officers located under the driver’s seat a loaded Brugger and Thomet, TP9 9mm firearm, with a sling, an attached vertical foregrip, a red-dot attached laser sight, an inserted 30-round magazine, and one round in the chamber. A further search of the vehicle revealed a bulletproof vest, three Glock 9mm magazines, two loaded TP9 high-capacity magazines, 18 rounds of loose 9mm ammunition, and a .40-caliber barrel for a Glock 23.
Because he has prior felony convictions in Ramsey County, Lincoln is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
On November 9, 2021, Lincoln pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession of an unregistered firearm. Lincoln was sentenced earlier today by U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case was the result of investigations conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the St. Paul Police Department, and the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Bejar and Chelsea A. Walcker prosecuted the case.
