Rochester Man Sentenced for Possession of Illegal Shotgun Seized During Traffic Stop

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester man was sentenced this week for a felony weapons violation. 

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The criminal complaint against 22-year-old Eugene Washington says he was riding in a vehicle stopped by a State Trooper this past May on the East Frontage Road along Highway 52 near John Marshall High School for lane violation. Two passengers took off running from the vehicle and the trooper spotted a sawed-off shotgun without a serial number in plain view inside of it. 

Next to the weapon, police found a bag with additional shotgun shells and Washington’s Minnesota ID. The man detained at the scene then stated that he had been driving the vehicle and he had picked up Washington, who was carrying a black bag, at a gas station on 7th Street. 

The criminal complaint says the same State Trooper later pulled over another vehicle for expired registration on 19th Street Northwest and immediately recognized Washington as the backseat passenger. It states Washington initially denied being in the other vehicle and running from the trooper but later acknowledged he was in the backseat when the first traffic stop took place. 

The court record says Washington also denied knowing about the gun but later told the trooper he held the shotgun earlier in the night when he and two others were trying to buy it. Washington was charged with felony possession of a firearm without a serial number, felony possession of a short-barreled shotgun and felony drug possession. 

Court records indicate Washington entered a plea deal in which he admitted to the short-barreled shotgun charge in exchange for the two other charges being dismissed. He was sentenced to the terms agreed to in the plea bargain, which is a five years probation,  He was also given credit for 78 days served in the Olmsted County Jail.