No need to prove felon knew ammo worked in possession crime, state appeals court rules

ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled prosecutors do not need to prove someone knew ammunition was operable in order to prove they're guilty of possessing it while ineligible to do so.

The precedential ruling released Monday, Oct. 23, arose from an appeal in a 2022 Itasca County case.

Appellant Samuel James Lyons argued he was unable to present a complete defense in a jury trial after he was charged as a felon in possession of ammo. The district court barred Lyons' attorney from arguing that the state had to prove he knew the ammunition he possessed was operable.

The appeals court affirmed the district court decision, noting common law found in court rulings does not support the appellant's argument.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that "mens rea" — or the element of a crime that requires a defendant knows the facts that make their conduct illegal — is the rule rather than the exception. This is the case even when criminal statutes themselves are silent on the matter, the state's highest court has said.

But Judge Peter M. Reyes Jr. opined that this does not mean prosecutors must prove multiple layers of mens rea, as the appellant argued in this case. The state was required to prove Lyons knew he possessed the ammunition — but not if he knew it worked.

Reyes likened it to a Supreme Court ruling that found with the crime of possessing illegal drugs in a school zone, prosecutors must prove the defendant knew they possessed drugs. But there isn't a second requirement to prove they knew they were in a school zone.

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"Knowledge of operability is irrelevant because 'ignorance of the law is no excuse,'" Reyes wrote.

Lyons was arrested in May 2022 after a sheriff's sergeant witnessed him walking on the shoulder of Highway 2 near Ball Club and jumping into the road, causing traffic to stop.

He smelled of alcohol, according to the complaint, which was in violation of a no-alcohol provision of his probation in another case. A search of Lyons revealed a loaded magazine for a handgun in his pocket, described as rusty and tarnished.

Because Lyons has a felony record, he is barred from possessing a firearm or ammunition. He admitted during his trial he knowingly picked up the ammunition that he said he found on the side of the road.

Lyons was sentenced to five years in prison by the district court.

The 39-year-old is currently serving his sentence in a minimum security boot camp program in Willow River, which allows nonviolent individuals to earn early release.