Myon Burrell convicted on gun and drug charges

Myon Demarlo Burrell, who had a murder sentence commuted in 2020, was convicted Friday on gun and drug charges.

Court documents state that the court found him guilty on charges of illegal firearm possession and fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance.

The Dakota County Attorney’s Office handled the case, as Burrell was a paid staffer on Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s campaign.

According to a criminal complaint, a Robbinsdale police officer stopped Burrell for speeding. When the officer stopped the SUV and Burrell rolled down the driver’s side window, “Smoke appeared to billow out,” the complaint adds.

After smelling marijuana and noticing signs of intoxication in field sobriety tests, the officer told Burrell he was going to look in the SUV for marijuana. The complaint states that Burrell said the officer didn’t have permission and started walking away when the officer said he needed to sit in the back of the squad. Burrell was put in handcuffs and placed in the squad.

Inside the vehicle, the officer found a Glock 17 9 mm handgun and marijuana remnants, as well as a backpack that contained two bags of suspected marijuana, 21 capsules with a crystal-like powder inside and 16 suspected ecstasy pills, according to court documents. Testing later showed one of the 21 capsules contained meth and one of the 16 pills was positive for MDMA.

Court documents state that Burrell’s DNA was found on the firearm. His DNA was also found on the bags of drugs.

Burrell isn’t eligible to have a gun due to his prior murder conviction.

That conviction stems from the 2002 killing of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards. He was sentenced to life in prison as a teen but was freed after 18 years when the state’s pardons board commuted his sentence.

Burrell is scheduled to have another court appearance on Sept. 23.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.