St. Paul man sentenced to over 9 years in prison for meth and firearms possession

A St. Paul man was sentenced to 110 months — just over nine years — in prison and five additional years of supervised release Thursday for possessing methamphetamine and firearms, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Joshua Cameron Hanes, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of firearms possession as a felon and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

On March 22, on an outstanding warrant, Eagan police tried to perform a traffic stop and arrest Hanes, court documents state. Hanes attempted to flee and crashed into a squad. Despite disregarding verbal commands for several minutes, Hanes ultimately relented, exited the car and was taken into custody by police.

During a vehicle search, police found two bags of meth — together weighing 198 grams — and a stolen semiautomatic handgun. As part of his plea, Hanes admitted to having a high-capacity magazine for the pistol, according to court documents. Due to his status as a convicted felon, Hanes is ineligible to possess any firearms or ammunition.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as Eagan and St. Paul police, collaborated on the investigation into Hanes.