After Pursuit, Police Arrest Man For Illegal Gun Possession

A Minneapolis man has been charged with illegally possessing a loaded handgun after Richfield Police say they found him lurking behind a building on 3rd Avenue South.

Isiah Lee Harper, 23, is charged with carrying a weapon without a permit, a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He is also charged with giving false information to police, a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, officers were called to the 6700 block of 3rd Avenue South on Sept. 17 on a report of a suspicious person.

When they arrived, police spotted a man who matched the description given by the caller, and called him over to the squad car. The man, later identified as Harper, walked toward them holding a cell phone in his right hand and reportedly told officers he was lost.

According to the complaint, Harper tried to shove the phone into an officer’s face. The officer grabbed the phone, gave it to another officer and then grabbed Harper and tried to put his right hand behind his back.

Harper then fled on foot clutching something in his right fist, the complaint says. Police chased him, and after a short pursuit, Harper slipped and fell on a patch of grass, where he was handcuffed.

Harper told officers that his name was Porter Lee Webb, and gave them a birthdate in 1969. He later admitted giving officers his brother’s name and birthdate because he had an outstanding warrant in Hennepin County, according to the complaint.

Police found a loaded handgun along the route that Harper used when he fled. Harper initially denied ownership of the gun, telling police that he had slipped on it, but later admitted that it was his gun and he had dropped it while running away, according to the complaint.

Harper remains in the Hennepin County Jail on a $20,000 bond. He is also being held on a felony warrant from Minneapolis charging him with domestic assault. An omnibus hearing in his latest case is scheduled Oct. 17 in Hennepin County District Court.