MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 56-year-old man who has been convicted of multiple violent felonies pleaded guilty in district court Tuesday to possessing a 20-gauge sawed-off shotgun.
Samuel Westmoreland, of St. Paul, is described by the U.S. Department of Justice as a career criminal. He was convicted of second-degree assault in Ramsey County in 2005, fourth-degree assault in Hennepin County in 1989, burglary in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1979 and armed robbery in that same city in 1983, the department said.
Westmoreland pleaded guilty to one count of being a criminal in possession of a firearm before district court judge John R. Tunheim.
Because of the Armed Career Criminal Act, Westmoreland faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison. The maximum sentence is life in prison, the department said.
