Man sentenced for assault in connection to pull tabs shooting in northeast Minneapolis

A man accused of shooting a man eight times to steal his pull tab winnings has been sentenced to spend over nine years in prison.

Anthony Ferrara, 34, was sentenced Monday to 114 months (9.5 years) in prison for felony first-degree assault in Hennepin County Court Monday.

Two other charges he had been accused of were dismissed at the sentencing and his fines and fees were waived.

Ferrara was arrested in connection to an August 13 shooting. According to charging documents, Ferrara and another man had previously approached two men at the Vegas Lounge bar in northeast Minneapolis, asking if they had won anything at pull tabs.

After being dismissed by the couple, Ferrara and his companion reportedly became angry and followed the two after they had won $1,000 playing pull tabs.

Ferrara and the other man got in a car together and followed them to a restaurant, where Ferrara reportedly held one of the men up at gunpoint, demanding he hand over his bag.

While attempting to take the bag off, Ferrara reportedly shot the victim multiple times: four times in the left leg, twice in the right leg and twice in the abdomen before driving off.

An off-duty EMT heard the gunfire and was able to treat the injured man until emergency responders arrived.

Police were able to identify Ferrara through the bar’s surveillance footage and comparing his tattoos to ones seen in booking photos and Facebook posts. He was eventually arrested while sleeping in a car in Minnehaha and Snelling avenues.