Teen Accused of Selling Handguns Stolen from Richfield Home

A Rosemount man has been charged with selling weapons that were stolen earlier this year in a Richfield home burglary to an informant for the Dakota County Drug Task Force.

Nicholas Jeffrey Briner, 18, is charged with two counts of receiving or possessing stolen property, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $100,000 fine, and one count of being a felon in possession of a handgun, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, an agent with the Dakota County Drug Task Force arranged for a confidential informant to buy stolen handguns from Briner in early June. The informant was given $600 and an empty duffel bag in which to stash the guns.

The informant, followed by task force agents, drove to Briner’s home in the 16100 block of Dodd Lane, parked in the driveway and walked into the garage, according to the complaint. A few minutes later, the informant left the home through the garage and put the duffel bag in his car.

Shortly after that, the informant met with a task force agent and turned over the duffel bag, which contained four handguns, along with $200 of the government buy money. The informant said he had been able to buy only four handguns instead of the six that he had planned to buy.

Among the guns in the bag were a .45-caliber semi-automatic Colt Commander and a Browning semi-automatic pistol. The serial numbers on the weapons matched those of two handguns stolen May 19 during a residential burglary in Richfield, according to the complaint.

Briner’s record includes two felony drug convictions last year, when he was 17. He remains in the Dakota County Jail on a $25,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled for July 11.