SWAT officers who broke down the door of a north Minneapolis home while serving an arrest warrant last week made a surprising discovery inside of a pink stuffed teddy bear: a 12-gauge shotgun.
The target of the Jan. 21 raid was the son of the homeowners. But while searching for the 24-year-old man, who is wanted for failing to register as a predatory offender, members of the Enforcement Service Division — the Hennepin County Sheriff's version of a SWAT team — saw evidence of criminal activity around the home, including: a 9mm handgun inside of an open duffel bag, two digital scales and other drug paraphernalia, according to court filings. When they returned with a second warrant to search the house, authorities found about 30 grams of methamphetamine, a drug ledger and ammunition, the filings said. The search also turned up a Mossberg Maverick 88 12-gauge shotgun that authorities say was stuffed inside of the pink bear, which was found in a basement bedroom.
The home is in the 4000 block of N. Aldrich Avenue, according to the filings.
Of the three people present, one woman was arrested after authorities learned that she was prohibited from possessing firearms because of an earlier felony conviction in Texas. The 27-year-old was later released pending charges, jail records show.
It wasn't immediately clear Monday whether the original target of the raid had been arrested.
Libor Jany • 612-673-4064 Twitter:@StribJany
