State of Minnesota v. David Lee Haywood

OPINION

HUDSON, Justice.

This case presents the question of whether an air-powered BB gun is a “firearm” under the felon-in-possession statute, Minn.Stat. § 609.165 (2014). The State charged appellant David Haywood with one count of Possession of a Firearm by an Ineligible Person under Minn.Stat. § 609.165, subd. lb. Haywood filed two motions to dismiss. In the first motion, Haywood argued that the charge should be dismissed because the BB gun that police found in his possession was not a “firearm” within the meaning of Minn.Stat. § 609.165. In his second, alternative motion, Haywood challenged…