Inver Grove Heights man who admitted to being in possession FBI rifle sentenced

An Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, man who admitted to having a rifle that belonged to the FBI during a federal operation in Minneapolis earlier this year has been sentenced, according to court documents filed on Monday.

A judge sentenced 33-year-old Raul Gutierrez to 54 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to one count of felon in possession of a firearm in connection with the January incident.

According to the plea agreement, Gutierrez "participated in a violent civil disturbance in Minneapolis" on Jan. 14, in which he and others broke into an FBI vehicle. When he and an accomplice arrived at the vehicle, it was already "extensively damaged," and the rear hatch was open, court documents said.

The accomplice broke into a vault in the vehicle and removed a rifle bag and a satchel of ammunition, the agreement said. They then handed the rifle bag to Gutierrez, who carried it to his car and drove away.

Members of the FBI helped the Department of Homeland Security personnel in north Minneapolis after an arrest operation that resulted in the use of force during the evening of Jan. 14, according to a federal affidavit. The court document doesn't give details of the operation, though federal agents in the area shot a Venezuelan migrant in the leg during that time. 

Court records said civil unrest that happened after the arrest forced FBI and DHS personnel to abandon their vehicles.   

The bag contained a rifle and a silencer, per the agreement, which went on to say that Gutierrez didn't know "the exact contents of the rifle bag when he first took possession of it, but he suspected the bag contained a firearm."

When Gutierrez opened the bag, he saw it contained the firearm. He then "abandoned the bag and its contents," the agreement said. The 33-year-old was taken into custody following a "brief foot pursuit" on Jan. 15 after federal investigators identified and located his vehicle, according to court documents.

Gutierrez has been convicted of felony burglary and domestic assault, and is not allowed to possess firearms.