Robbinsdale man to serve nearly 16 years in prison for 2 illegal gun possession convictions

A Robbinsdale man will now spend an additional decade in prison after receiving a second federal sentence for illegal gun possession as a felon, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Minnesota.

Authorities went to arrest 26-year-old Travon Lavelle Blackman in spring 2022 because he “failed to surrender himself” to begin a different 70-month prison sentence for a 2021 illegal firearm possession conviction, the attorney’s office said.

At the time of that arrest, investigators also found a .45-caliber pistol with a high-capacity magazine and a “switch” to make it fully automatic. They later discovered the gun was stolen and had Blackman’s fingerprints on it.

Thus, the U.S. Attorney’s Office began prosecuting a new case for illegal gun possession as a felon. Blackman pleaded guilty to the new charge in August.

Blackman will now serve the two sentences consecutively for a total of 190 months, or about 16 years, in prison.