Cass County felon pleads guilty to illegal firearm possession

MINNEAPOLIS — A Cass County man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to illegal possession of a short-barreled shotgun in 2021.

According to court documents, on July 8, 2021, 44-year-old John Jarrod Jones illegally possessed a 12-gauge short-barreled shotgun.

Jones took the firearm into a restroom at the Cedar Lakes Casino and Hotel on the Leech Lake Nation and hid it behind a garbage can along with a plastic bag containing shotgun shells and a knife.

Jones left the restroom and was later arrested in the Casino on unrelated charges.

Because Jones has several prior felony convictions in Hennepin and Cass Counties, he is prohibited from lawfully possessing any firearms or ammunition.

Jones pleaded guilty on Tuesday, March 21, in U.S. District Court to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Leech Lake Police Department.