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Fleet Farm ordered to hand over more records in Minnesota’s gun lawsuit

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Published  August 23, 2024 12:30pm CDT
Investigators
FOX 9

Fleet Farm ordered to hand over more evidence

A federal judge has ordered Fleet Farm to handover more documents on its firearm sales amid a lawsuit brought by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A federal judge ordered Fleet Farm to hand over more evidence to the Minnesota Attorney General's office as part of its ongoing civil lawsuit involving firearms sales.

The Brief:

    • The retailer is being sued by the state for not doing enough to stop illegal straw purchases and selling guns that showed up at crime scenes across the Twin Cities.
    • Recent court filings revealed a former Fleet Farm store manager questioned some of the sales to a now a convicted straw purchaser.
    • Fleet Farm must now hand over even more records as part of an ongoing review of the company’s sales practices and policies.

The decision 

During a hearing this week, a federal judge compelled Fleet Farm to hand over more internal company records after a "highly relevant document" was recently unearthed. 

READ MORE: Fleet Farm accused of withholding records in Minnesota gun lawsuit

The document was written by a former Fleet Farm manager, who raised questions about whether to stop future sales to now-convicted straw purchaser Jerome Horton Jr.

The backstory

Ellison filed the state’s lawsuit in 2022, after a mass shooting at the Truck Park Bar in downtown St. Paul. At least 14 people were injured, and 27-year-old Marquisha Wiley was killed.

The ATF later traced one of the guns used in the deadly shooting back to Jerome Horton Jr. 

He was convicted of running a straw purchasing operation in which he bought dozens of firearms for other people. Court records show 24 guns came from Fleet Farm locations.

The accusations

The lawsuit claims Fleet Farm disregarded "blatant warning signs," including multiple purchases of similar handguns, buying sprees and staggered visits to different locations.

READ MORE: Fleet Farm flagged by ATF for selling guns used in crimes

Fleet Farm has denied the allegations in Minnesota’s lawsuit.

A key document 

According to court filings, Fleet Farm "belatedly produced" a key document from a former Fleet Farm manager, after the AG’s office became aware of it.

"Getting information from the gun industry is hard," said AG Ellison, in a recent interview with the FOX 9 Investigators. "This information is very precious and hard to come by."

Court filings describe the internal record where a former Fleet Farm manager questioned "whether any future sales [to Horton] should be stopped." 

Fleet Farm’s attorney also wrote in a recent memo that the employee who sold a gun that was ultimately used in a mass shooting "did not" have "any reason to believe that this could be a straw purchase."

Discovery extended 

Fleet Farm has provided more than 16,000 documents to the Attorney General’s office so far, according to court filings. 

However, during a recent court hearing, Fleet Farm was given two weeks to hand over more evidence specifically related to the former manager mentioned in the recently surfaced key document.

The Source:

  • Details about Fleet Farm’s firearms sales were made public in federal court filings and during a court hearing in federal court in St. Paul on Aug 21.