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Crime, Law and Justice
Estelle Timar-Wilcox

Myon Burrell convicted of felony drug, weapon charges 4 years after prison sentence commuted

Man looks at camera and holds face mask in front of crowd
Myon Burrell was released from a Minnesota prison in 2020 after an investigation led to his sentence for a 2008 murder being commuted.
John Minchillo | AP 2021

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A judge last week found Myon Burrell guilty of felony drug and weapon possession.

Burrell was released from a Minnesota prison in 2020 after an investigation led to his sentence for a 2008 murder being commuted.

Burrell, 38, was pulled over by Robbinsdale police in August 2023 for erratic driving. An officer searched his vehicle and found a loaded handgun. His 2008 murder conviction bars Burrell from possessing weapons. Officers also found suspected marijuana and various pills that tested positive for methamphetamine and ecstasy.

Investigators found Burrell’s DNA on the firearm and on baggies containing the pills.

Burrell’s attorney, Paul Applebaum, argued earlier in the trial that the initial police stop and vehicle search were unjustified, as the officer noted smelling and seeing marijuana smoke when he first approached Burrell’s car. That alone is not legal grounds for a search.

Judge Peter Cahill ruled that the stop and search were legal, noting other reasons officers initiated it: Police saw Burrell’s car moving over the center and lane divider lines on the road and could see suspected drugs in plain view inside the car.

Applebaum says he plans to appeal the decision that the search was legal, which could affect the conviction.

”The stipulated facts trial will allow us to get to the central issue in the case: the legality of the initial traffic stop and the expansion of that stop by the arresting officer,” Applebaum said in a statement. “Putting that constitutional question in the hands of the court of appeals has been our focus for some time.”

Burrell has another pending felony drug case stemming from a May traffic stop when police found controlled substances in his car.

A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled. Burrell is next due in court Sept. 23.