Man with Seven Felonies in Three Years Facing New Felony Weapons

By Michelle Anderson, MN Crime Watch, November 29, 2019 - News and Commentary

A man with eleven Minnesota convictions since 2015, including seven felony convictions since 2016, is facing a new weapons charge in Hennepin County.

Mahdi Ali Ahmed, 23, was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged on Wednesday with one count of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm or ammunition.

Ahmed has eleven cases that resulted in convictions in Minnesota since 2015, including seven felony convictions since 2016 which consist of two burglaries, three fleeing police, theft of motor vehicle and violation of a domestic abuse protection order (other charges of theft, possession of stolen property and fleeing were dismissed in some of those cases). Ahmed’s other convictions include gross misdemeanors and misdemeanors for violation of a domestic abuse protection order, motor vehicle theft, and other theft. One or more of Ahmed’s prior felony convictions make him ineligible to possess firearms or ammunition.

HOW
How and why is someone with seven felony convictions in three years still free to commit new crimes?

Ahmed has been given several stayed or reduced sentences in most of the cases. When he was finally sent to prison in 2017, he was allowed to serve concurrent sentences for five different felony cases that were charged in three different counties.

Minnesota's criminal justice system favors criminals over public safety. Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines allow for stayed sentences on a wide range of crimes, and in combination with Minnesota’s Criminal History Score calculation formula, repeat offenders are allowed to continue committing crimes and racking up new victims long before prison time is ever considered. Also, when an offender receives multiple sentences, the durations are generally allowed to run concurrently. Only in rare cases are sentences ordered to run consecutively.

Ahmed has been granted public defenders in all cases and has had warrants for his arrest issued several times for failures to appear at scheduled hearings. Minneapolis Crime Watch posted Ahmed in 2017 when he was arrested on several felony warrants and again in 2018 when he was a wanted fugitive.

Ahmed, whose address on jail records is listed on the 1800 block of James Avenue North ( a Minneapolis Public Housing owned property), is currently in custody in Hennepin County Jail on $100,000 bail/bond and is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Dec. 2.

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Michelle Anderson - Contributor, Minnesota Crime Watch

Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota.