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Stephen Montemayor

Reporter | Federal Courts and Law Enforcement
Phone: 612-673-1755

Stephen Montemayor covers federal courts and law enforcement. He previously covered Minnesota politics and government.


A native of Kansas City, Montemayor has lived in the Minneapolis area for a decade, most of which has been spent working at the Star Tribune. He graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in journalism and enjoys camping, travel and a good beer.
Recent content from Stephen Montemayor
Supporters of then-President Donald Trump protest on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.

Will Trump's election mean vindication for Minnesotans charged in Jan. 6 riot?

Some have already been convicted, while others await trial. Will it all be wiped away?
Law enforcement found two buried buckets containing one-pound bags of meth when they arrested Saul Rodriguez Pineda at a Shakopee home in 2022.

13-year federal sentence for Mexican cartel employee caught with 30 pounds of meth, lab in Shakopee

Saul Rodriguez Pineda, 40, had been living illegally in Minnesota. He argued that he helped distribute meth under duress by Mexican cartel leaders.
Mentors Erick and Tammi Washington of the Kingsmen Project stand to be recognized during a federal reentry court graduation ceremony on Oct. 16 the Wa

How the Kingsmen keep Minnesota's formerly incarcerated out of federal prison and thriving

Federal judges and defenders alike credit the nonprofit mentor program with helping reduce the number of people who reoffend.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Doron Tavlin learned about a secret, pending acquisition by Medtronic of Mazor Robotics, where he worked

Former Medtronic consultant sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for insider trading

A federal jury convicted Doron Tavlin, 69, of Minneapolis, in February for crimes related to a 2018 deal.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger speaks during a news conference announcing racketeering charges against members of a violent street gang at the Federal Cou

11 alleged Minneapolis Lows gang members indicted on racketeering charges that include 5 homicides

"The murders and shootings alleged in this indictment should shock the conscience of every law-abiding citizen in the city," U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said.
Sharmarke Issa, left, with his attorney, Thomas Brever, after pleading guilty on Sept. 18 for his role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. Issa is

'Minimal' participant in Feeding Our Future fraud pleads guilty, will likely avoid jail

Farhiya Ahmed Mohamud, 65, of Bloomington, was charged alongside her son, the ex-chair of the Minneapolis Housing Authority board.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said Mohamed Jama Ismail, pictured in April, would “leave prison a wealthy man” based on the many assets h

In first Feeding Our Future sentencing, judge admonishes man who 'decided not to be a helper ... but a thief'

Mohamed Jama Ismail, 51, of Savage, was among multiple people convicted after a seven-week trial and linked to $42 million in fraud proceeds.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. Paul on Tuesday. A guilty verdict has been reached i

3 accused members of Minneapolis Bloods street gang found guilty of racketeering, firearms charges

The verdict capped a weekslong trial that featured testimony from fellow gang members turned government cooperatives.
Family members comfort each other as they attend the funeral of the five women killed in a car crash on Lake Street, at the Garden of Eden Islamic Cem

As Derrick Thompson stands trial on gun, drug charges, jury watches video of crash that killed 5

Thompson's defense attorneys on Tuesday claimed that drugs and a gun found at the scene belonged to his brother, Damarco Thompson, who was a passenger and also fled that night.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger, right, at a May 2023 news conference in which he announced the arrest and indictment of alleged members and associates of

Jury to begin deliberating Friday in first Minneapolis Bloods racketeering case to go to trial

Two homicides and a pattern of drug trafficking in south Minneapolis are at the heart of the conspiracy trial involving three defendants among 80 charged to date under a crackdown on violent crime.
Wings Financial Credit Union is acquiring Neighborhood National Bank of Mora. Pictured is a Wings branch in Woodbury. (Photo provided by Wings)

Federal indictment: Bank teller machine scam netted hundreds of thousands of dollars

Four people are accused of fraudulently taking out more than $272,000 from Wings teller machines and another $150,000 from other Minnesota institutions.
FBI raid Twin Cities nonprofit “Feeding our Future,” in St. Anthony, Minn., on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022.

Eagan woman pleads guilty to wire fraud in Feeding Our Future case

Kawsar Jama, who spent money meant to feed children on real estate and high-end vehicles, is the 22nd person to plead guilty in the $250 million food aid fraud case.
FBI raid Twin Cities nonprofit "Feeding our Future," in St. Anthony, Minnesota, on Jan. 20, 2022.

Shakopee nonprofit run by couple indicted in Feeding Our Future case agrees to dissolve

The agreement, which still needs a Scott County judge's approval, came from an investigation by the Minnesota Attorney General, which alleges funds were used to buy a Porsche.

Minnesota sex trafficking survivor sues the Brooklyn Center hotel where abuses occurred

In her federal lawsuit, the survivor says staff at a Brooklyn Center Super 8 facilitated her sex traffickers and even provided extra housekeeping services and towels.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Provinzino, shown here speaking at a past press conference, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Sept. 12, 2024, to becom

Senate confirms Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Provinzino to be next Minnesota federal judge

President Joe Biden nominated the longtime federal prosecutor earlier this year.
On May 3, 2023, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger was flanked by federal, state and local law enforcement officials, including Hennepin County Sheriff Dawann

Minnesota Bloods trial will test feds' plan to go after street gangs like the mob

The federal government is alleging a broad conspiracy of murder and mayhem has enriched the Minneapolis Bloods' "enterprise."
During an Interview in in Minneapolis, Minn. on August 3, 2012, B. Todd Jones talked about the impact of the Tribal Law and Order Act on the U.S. Atto

B. Todd Jones leaving NFL to rejoin Minneapolis law firm

Jones also previously served as U.S. Attorney and was the first to be confirmed as director of the ATF.
Minnesota is appealing recent federal court rulings that have declared that the state's ban on permits to carry handguns for adults younger than 21 is

Minnesota AG considers asking U.S. Supreme Court to review age limit on permits to carry firearms

Attorney General Keith Ellison has so far unsuccessfully appealed a Minnesota federal judge's ruling that the state's ban on permits for adults younger than 21 is unconstitutional.
The Mossberg 9mm pistol Devondre Phillips fired repeatedly inside Seventh Street Truck Park on Oct. 10, 2021. It will remain stored in evidence until

Report: Fleet Farm manager raised questions about straw buyer of gun used in St. Paul mass shooting

Fleet Farm attorneys say an incident report showed that an employee who sold the gun to Jerome Horton at the time did not suspect straw purchasing.
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Minneapolis violence interrupter pushing back against feds' claims of Bloods ties

A recent federal court filing alleges that the Agape Movement paid "tens of thousands" to active gang members, including a man out on bail after being charged with murder.
In what’s being called “Operation Ice Bear,” Minnesota investigators seized more than 1,600 pounds of methamphetamine, four kilograms of cocaine

Minnesota man worked with Mexican cartels to fuel historic loads of meth, fentanyl back up north

Clinton James Ward and 14 others have been indicted in a case involving 1,600 pounds of methamphetamine, four kilograms of cocaine, two kilograms of fentanyl plus 30,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills.
A bag of heroin fentanyl pills, as seen on July 2, 2018. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration)

Chaotic north Minneapolis arrest yields federal fentanyl, gun charges

Agents say a man appeared to reach for a gun as they wrestled him out of his vehicle during a July 29 arrest.
Firearms training is required to get a permit to carry a gun in Minnesota.

Minn. AG Keith Ellison asks appeals court to review state's age limit for carrying handguns in public

The age limit is still in effect as Ellison's appeals process continues.

Mankato man who pistol-whipped grandmother, fired at Minneapolis police, pointed gun at child admits guilt

Kamau Evans broke into two Minneapolis homes connected to an ex-girlfriend and fired at police before his arrest.

Charges: Suicide attempt ended standoff that closed I-35 in Faribault; 44 pounds of meth found

Passenger said she loaded a needle with meth for the driver as the two fled a state trooper on July 21.
Defendant Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, right, walks into United States District Court with his attorney Edward Sapone during the first day of jury selection

Guilty plea in plot to bribe Feeding Our Future juror with $120,000 cash

Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, 23, of Shakopee, one of five indicted, pleaded guilty Tuesday.
Hennepin County K9 officer Thor was captured on video biting then-Champlin police officer Daniel Irish in a still from footage recorded by Hennepin Co

Rare officer v. officer lawsuit over Hennepin County K9 mauling ordered thrown out by federal appeals court

The lawsuit pitted a former Champlin officer bit by K9 during a pursuit against the sheriff's deputy who released the dog named Thor.
A Glock handgun equipped with a "switch" device.

Charges: Federal agents link a dozen guns bought in northern Minnesota to California crime scenes

Prosecutors this week charged a 28-year-old Badger, Minn., man with illegally possessing machine gun conversion devices, or "switches," found during a search of his home.
The investigator shared screenshots and videos of several people selling, promoting and operating machine gun conversion devices.

Prison for all 3 men whose Snapchat gun ring sold 'switches,' ghost guns around the Twin Cities

U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank this week sentenced Kyrees Darius Johnson, 22, of Minneapolis, to nearly eight years in prison to conclude the case — which was filed weeks after Johnson was shot 14 times in an attempted carjacking.
A federal appeals court on Tuesday agreed that Minnesota’s ban on 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying handguns publicly is unconstitutional, the secon

U.S. court agrees Minn. age limit on carrying handguns in public is unconstitutional

Minnesotans between 18 and 20 will be able to apply for permits to carry handguns publicly if Attorney General Keith Ellison does not appeal Tuesday's decision.
A team gathers for a demonstration of a threat assessment meeting at the FBI Minneapolis office in Brooklyn Center.

FBI 'threat assessment' teams around Minnesota try to stop the next mass shooting

Agents, school psychologists and child protection workers have been meeting regularly to devise "off-ramps" for those who might be considering violence.
Defendant Abdiaziz Shafii Farah walks into U.S. District Court during the third day of jury selection in the first Feeding Our Future case to go to tr

Fourth defendant pleads not guilty, will remain jailed as Feeding Our Future bribery case proceeds

Abdiaziz Shafii Farah is being charged with bribery in connection with the alleged plot to pay off a juror last month.
A bag of $120,000 in cash left with a juror in the Feeding Our Future trial, according to the FBI search warrant.

2 men plead not guilty, ordered jailed in Feeding Our Future jury bribery case

Judge cites flight risk for the two men, who pleaded not guilty. Three others are charged.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger announced charges of attempted bribery in the Feeding Our Future trial on June 26.

Feeding Our Future attempted bribery case could affect other trials in Minnesota

Legal experts say the attempted bribe of a juror could deter other Minnesotans from serving on a jury, fearing for their safety or privacy.

Woman pleads not guilty to conspiring to bribe a juror in Feeding Our Future trial

Ladan Mohamed Ali will not be jailed as her case proceeds, but she is barred from contacting witnesses or victims in the bribery case.
United States Attorney, Andrew Luger announced that 5 defendants will be charged for attempted bribery of a Feeding Our Future trial juror at the Fede

Feds charge five in plot to bribe Feeding Our Future trial juror with $120K in cash

Five people, including three who were on trial, are now being charged.
This Glock handgun equipped with a machine gun conversion device, also referred to as a "switch," was found during  Raquan Rahjai Johnson's arrest on

Federal charges: Shooting suspect caught in Brooklyn Park with similar switch-enabled gun he had in 2023 drug arrest

According to charges, Raquan Rahjai Johnson allegedly also possessed a Glock with a gold switch when he was arrested for selling drugs as a juvenile in January 2023.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara speaks during a news conference at the Diana E. Murphy US. Courthouse in Minneapolis, MN., on Tuesday. Officia

New federal charges halt 're-emergence' of south Mpls. street gang

"Some of the worst of the worst" are indicted on gun, drug charges.
Booking photo for Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, who has been held in Sherburne County Jail since March 2023 to await sentencing on federal terrorism support

St. Louis Park man sentenced to 10 years for joining, fighting for ISIS overseas

Abdelhamid Al-Madioum has since said he "joined a death cult" and has helped the FBI investigate terror cases around the country.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Provinzino was born and raised in St. Cloud and has spent her entire legal career in Minnesota, where she has been a fed

Biden nominates assistant U.S. attorney to be next Minnesota federal judge

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar called Provinzino "the right person for this moment."
FILE - In this March 17, 2021, file photo, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington.

Race-based scholarships at Minnesota State University Moorhead subject of new civil rights complaint

A Rhode Island-based conservative nonprofit made the Minnesota university the latest among a growing list of challenges to race-based education policies since a landmark 2023 Supreme Court ruling.
Carver County local law enforcement officials, under FBI supervision, last week learn how to locate a body and investigate a scene as they dug up a pi

FBI's 'Pig Dig' helps teach Minnesota law enforcement how to find bodies, preserve evidence

Dubbed the "Pig Dig," this FBI class walks local Minnesota agencies through how to meticulously dig up bodies and evidence at outdoor crime scenes.
Ibrahim Ghassan Sleyman

Bloomington man given 40 years in child porn case involving at least 22 children

Feds extradited Ibrahim Ghassan Sleyman from the United Arab Emirates last year to face prosecution in a case in which prosecutors say new victims are still being identified.

With guilty plea, feds secure 64th and final conviction in magazine fraud case

The U.S. Justice Department said the scam lasted for at least 20 years and victimized more than 100,000 people in all 50 states.
A memorial in Burnsville for slain officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth. The partner of the shooter has bee

'Straw' gun buyers often are women in abusive relationships

A Star Tribune review of more than two dozen "straw" gun cases charged since 2014 found that a majority involve women connected to an intimate partner, close friend or relative who leaned on them to get their guns. And many of their cases reveal backdrops of trauma or domestic violence.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger, shown at a March announcement.

Feds accuse two business consultants to Hennepin County of stealing $1 million in pandemic aid

Tezzaree El-Amin Champion and Marcus Alexander Hamilton are accused of submitting more than 100 fraudulent invoices and grant and loan applications through their Futuristic Management Group LLC small business consultancy firm.
The FBI raids Twin Cities nonprofit Feeding our Future” in St. Anthony on Jan. 20, 2022.

Kenya property, dreams of becoming 'multimillionaires' highlight texts in Feeding Our Future trial

The federal trial for seven of the 70 people indicted on fraud charges will begin its fourth week of testimony on Monday.
Defendant Said Shafii Farah, center, walks into the United States District Court with his attorneys Clayton Carlson, left, and Steve Schleicher, right

Witnesses parse trove of text messages as Feeding Our Future trial continues in its third week

A special agent from the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigations unit will return to the stand as trial resumes Friday after a Thursday break.
Kassius Benson

Ex-Chief Hennepin County Public Defender Kassius Benson given probation for federal tax evasion

He admitted late last year that he failed to pay taxes withheld for employees of his criminal defense firm.
Sharon Lubinski said one thing she learned as a Minneapolis cop is the idea of applying justice evenly.

Sharon Lubinski, first openly gay U.S. marshal and longtime MPD leader, dies at 71

Lubinski came out in 1993 and later became one of the highest serving women in law enforcement nationwide.
Booking photo for Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, who has been held in Sherburne County Jail since March 2023 to await sentencing on federal terrorism support

Wednesday sentencing for St. Louis Park man who joined ISIS called off, to be rescheduled

Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, now 27, surrendered to Syrian forces in 2019 and has spent years providing valuable information about the inner workings of the terror group he once worked for.
Booking photo for Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, who has been held in Sherburne County Jail since March 2023 to await sentencing on federal terrorism support

Minnesotan will be sentenced for fighting for ISIS: 'I joined a death cult'

As federal authorities stopped groups of Minnesotans from traveling to ISIS territory a decade ago, Abdelhamid Al-Madioum escaped detection. His survival and return home was no less astonishing.
Anoka County jail

Suit: Staff at Anoka jail withheld opioid withdrawal meds from inmate who collapsed, was injured

A new federal lawsuit is taking aim at Anoka County and an embattled private for-profit health company contracted to provide services at the county jail.
A bag of heroin fentanyl pills, as seen on July 2, 2018. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration)

Member of Highs gang given nearly 20-year sentence in federal racketeering case

Montez Brown, 32, was caught with 9,700 fentanyl pills, thousands of dollars in cash, and two firearms during an April 2023 arrest amid the ongoing federal crackdown on Twin Cities gangs.
United States Attorney Andrew Luger

Gustavus professor accused of fraud to remain jailed after threatening U.S. Attorney

A magistrate judge on Wednesday ordered the professor to undergo a mental health evaluation while in jail as his fraud case proceeds.

Gustavus Adolphus accounting professor indicted on fraud charges over embezzlement claims

James Anthony Kroger is accused of taking more than $690,000 invested by a business partner and using it on 'extravagant personal purchases' while laundering money and filing a sham bankruptcy claim to conceal the scheme.
Fragments from an explosive at a Bryn Mawr neighborhood hair salon matched this one, found in an abandoned F-150 pickup, according to federal charges

FBI arrests Minneapolis man, 59, linked to bombing, vandalizing salon over consecutive years

Michael Allen Francisco allegedly confessed to setting off a bomb at the Studio 411 salon in Minneapolis in 2022 before returning to toss a brick through its window a year later.

Man arrested in probe of Inver Grove Heights bank robbery gets 10-year sentence for illegal gun possession

Deundrick McIntosh pleaded guilty to gun charges last year but his attorney said evidence linking him to robbery was "circumstantial."
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Feds: Owatonna man who threatened to kill police at Capitol tried to get shotgun back, build new guns

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Dayton Sauke to two more years of prison after he violated the terms of supervised release. Investigators found more posts in support of far-right extremist groups.
Caleb Vincent McLaughlin was sentenced to more than 29 years in federal prison on March 25, 2024, in what prosecutors called one of the worst child ex

29 years in federal prison for Pine City man who used Snapchat to victimize hundreds of young girls

Federal prosecutors say Caleb Vincent McLaughlin perpetrated 'by far' one of Minnesota's worst child-exploitation cases.

Apple Valley man led police on high speed chases, found with escalating amounts of drugs and guns in four run-ins since 2020

A federal judge this week sentenced Timothy Allen Torell Wetzstein to 13 1/2 years in prison in what prosecutors described as a 'drug-and-gun-and-fleeing escapade.'
United States Attorney Andrew Luger announced Thursday that Ashley Anne Dyrdahl has been indicted for placing firearms in the hands of Shannon Gooden.

Charges: Girlfriend bought AR-15 style firearms for felon weeks before Burnsville ambush

Shannon Cortez Gooden was legally barred from possessing guns at the time of the Feb. 18 standoff that claimed the lives of three first responders.
The sun sets behind a police car covered in flowers and balloons outside of Burnsville City Hall in honor of the two police officers and a paramedic k

Federal grand jury investigating how Burnsville shooter acquired guns

Ex-girlfriend said prosecutors investigating last month's deaths of three first responders asked whether Shannon Cortez Gooden could have forced her to buy guns on his behalf.
Booking photo for Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, who has been held in Sherburne County jail since March 2023 to await sentencing on federal terrorism support

Sentencing set for St. Louis Park man who left family to fight for ISIS in 2015

Abdelhamid Al-Madioum lost most of an arm while fighting for ISIS, and has been in custody since surrendering to Syrian forces in 2019.
Juan Michael Smith

Federal charges: Aitkin County man illegally possessed guns, child porn, researched police ambushes

Juan Michael Smith allegedly ordered guns to be shipped to a Robbinsdale retailer and had his daughter pick them up in the store.
This Mossberg MC2c pistol, produced in Eagle Pass, Texas, was eventually sold on the black market. It was used in a mass shooting at a bar in St. Paul

Minnesota now alleging Fleet Farm violated state law when it sold firearms to straw buyers

A federal judge last week allowed the state to add new allegations to its lawsuit, first filed in 2022.
iStock
A gavel rests on its sounding block with a several law books and a justice scale out of focus in the background.

St. Cloud man gets 10 years for illegal gun possession, pistol used by 5-year-old in fatal shooting

According to charges, Roberto Antwan Williams hid the gun his now-wife's child used to shoot himself.
Royal Cigar & Tobacco customers walked into the Dinkytown store Sunday, hours after two people were shot and killed there, Minneapolis police said

Federal charges link fatal Dinkytown tobacco shop, Uptown shootings to Minneapolis gang rivalry

A new gun and fentanyl case identified the deceased as members of the north Minneapolis Lows gang.
Numerous law enforcement agents participated in what was touted as the largest fentanyl seizure in state history.

Three more charged with shipping record amounts of fentanyl to Minnesota inside stuffed animals

Investigators seized more than 66 pounds of fentanyl pills found in six shipments due for the Twin Cities.
A federal judge has sentenced a Burnville man to 15 years in federal prison on a new conviction for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, imposing

Prosecutors reveal Minnesota meth trafficker's bosses: federal prison inmates

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced John Paul Majerus II to 15 years for conspiring to ship Mexican meth to Minnesota with connections he made during his first prison stint.
Seizures of fentanyl pills have been on a steady rise in Minnesota: authorities recovered more than 417,000 last year, up 127% over 2022.

Charges: Man caught with 170 pounds of fentanyl, meth, cocaine on return trip from Mexico to Minnesota

The more than 60 pounds of fentanyl allegedly found in Rito Gaxiola Jr.'s Jeep would rival a Minnesota record that involved six people and four months of trafficking by mail.
Michael Lee Kurkowski

As trial starts, Owatonna man pleads guilty to child porn charges, threatening to murder sex abuse victim

Michael Lee Kurkowski was arrested in 2022 while traveling to the home of a former victim, carrying zip ties and weapons in his luggage.
Jacob Swartout, a Sergeant with Savage Police, bumps his fist against the bumper of a fallen officer's squad car Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024 outside the Bu

Ensuring those barred from owning guns don't get them comes down to 'honor system'

Shannon Cortez Gooden had been prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition for 16 years when he killed two Burnsville police officers and a paramedic last week.
Medtronic reported unexpectedly strong profits for its third quarter.

Ex-Medtronic consultant convicted of insider trading; Twin Cities insurance agent acquitted

Doron "Ron" Tavlin was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit insider trading and 10 counts of securities fraud and aiding and abetting securities fraud. The same jury found David Jay Gantman not guilty of all charges
Kimberly Handy Jones flanked by Clyde McLemore left and her sister Nanette Adams held a poster of her son Cordale Handy who was killed by St. Paul Pol

Judge reduces record payout in 2017 police killing of Black man in St. Paul

A federal judge this month concluded that the City of St. Paul should pay far less than the $11.5 million a jury awarded the mother of a man shot dead in 2017.