Minneapolis man sentenced to more than six years in prison for possessing heroin

A Minneapolis man was sentenced to more than six years in prison for possessing approximately 98 grams of heroin, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Wednesday.

Johnathan B. Pierre Morris, 30, pleaded guilty on Oct. 8 to one count of first-degree heroin possession - 25 grams or more and one count of prohibited person carrying a firearm. Judge Toddrick Barnette sentenced Morris Tuesday afternoon to 73 months for the drug possession and 60 months for having a gun, which he was prohibited from having as the result of an aggravated robbery in 2004 when he was a juvenile. The sentence for the two counts will be served concurrently.

According to the criminal complaint, on March 27, police stopped a car at a Holiday Gas station on Washington Avenue North to execute a search warrant for Morris. Police found 76 bindles of heroin on him as well as a baggie containing 3.78 grams of crack cocaine and $575 in cash. Officers also found a digital scale and a credit card with Morris’s name in the car.

Later that day, police executed a search warrant for Morris’s house and in an upstairs bedroom found more heroin, $12,000 in cash, and a gun and a magazine with 27 rounds of ammunition.

Morris Criminal Complaint (PDF)