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Mom accused of holding gun for son
A Minneapolis mother is accused of arming her teenage son who allegedly used the gun to commit several crimes. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has filed multiple charges against Tashalon Adams including a felony offense of aiding an offender.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A Minneapolis mother is accused of arming her teenage son, who allegedly used the gun to commit several crimes.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has filed multiple charges against Tashalon Adams, including a felony offense of aiding an offender.
According to court documents, Minneapolis police recovered a total of four guns from Adams’ Cedar Avenue South apartment during a search last June.
Minneapolis mom arrested: What the charges say
What we know:
According to court documents, Adams admitted to holding onto a gun for her son at their apartment and then giving the firearm to him when he told her he needed it for protection.
Minneapolis police say her son is connected to several crimes, including armed carjackings and robberies.
In addition to aiding an offender, Adams is facing lesser charges of providing a gun to an ineligible person as well as contributing to the delinquency of a child.
"It takes all of us in the community to try and address these issues around illegal guns, shootings and particularly stuff with gun violence involving juveniles," O’Hara said. "So, we need community, we need community partners, and we certainly need parents to be doing their role responsibly."
The backstory:
Chief O’Hara said officers were conducting a search of Adams’ residence as part of an investigation involving four juvenile males, including her son. Police believed the teen boys, 14 to 16 years old, were armed after fleeing police. That search reportedly uncovered four guns, including a black Smith and Wesson that she admitted she hides behind her bed for when he needs the gun for protection.
According to court filings, when asked if she knew her son was involved in carjackings or robberies, she replied she does not know anything about that because "that’s [her son’s] personal life."
"Obviously, there is a flow of illegal guns into the city. But in particular, with juveniles, we want to identify and we want to charge to the fullest extent of the law any adult out here getting guns into the hands of kids," explained Chief O’Hara, who hopes other parents and adults take note of the charges in this case.
What they're saying:
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty provided the following statement to FOX 9:
"Guns in young hands lead to tragedy, from accidental discharges to outright violence. In this case, Tashalon Adams facilitated access to a firearm for her child who she knew was not legally permitted to possess it. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has charged her with one count of aiding an offender, one count of transferring a firearm to a disqualified person, and one count of contributing to delinquency of a child."