Brooklyn Center Man Sentenced in Safe Streets Case

MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court, a 31-year-old Brooklyn Center felon was sentenced for possessing a .40-caliber pistol. United States District Court Judge David S. Doty sentenced Tavon Tarrell Timberlake to 80 months in prison on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Timberlake was indicted on October 5, 2010, and pleaded guilty on November 30, 2010. This was Timberlake's fifth conviction for felon in possession of a firearm.

In his plea agreement, Timberlake admitted that on June 3, 2010, he had a loaded .40- caliber, semi-automatic pistol tucked in his waistband when police stopped the vehicle in which he was riding. Officers also found a loaded .40-caliber firearm in the glove box and a nine-millimeter gun with 24 bullets in an extended magazine underneath the front passenger seat. Moreover, a distribution amount of marijuana was located under a car seat occupied by a 4-year-old.

Timberlake's first felony conviction occurred in 2000, when he was convicted in Hennepin County of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance. After that, Timberlake was prohibited from possessing firearms at any time. Nonetheless, Timberlake was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in Hennepin County twice in 2005, in Ramsey County in 2006, and in Anoka County in 2009. He was also convicted in Hennepin County in 2000 of third-degree possession of a controlled substance.

Following today's sentencing, Donald E. Oswald, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Minneapolis Field Office, said, "The Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force was formed to specifically target the most violent gang members in the Twin Cities. Tavon Timberlake, a Gangster Disciple member, fits that bill. The Twin Cities are a safer place now that he has been sentenced to a federal prison term."

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Safe Streets Task Force. Safe Streets is an FBI-sponsored task force that focuses on combating violent street crime as well as gang and drug trafficking offenses. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol M. Kayser.