ST. PETER — A drug investigation led to agents finding a stolen firearm in a North Mankato man’s vehicle Wednesday.
Tierre Theo Walton, 34, was charged with four felonies for firearm and ammunition violations after violent crime convictions, one felony for receiving stolen property and a misdemeanor for driving after license revocation Friday in Nicollet County District Court.
A criminal complaint state Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force agents were monitoring Walton’s vehicle in relation to suspected drug sales. A sheriff’s deputy pulled Walton over in Nicollet County, leading to agents using a search warrant to find a pistol and loaded extended magazine in the trunk. The serial number on the firearm reportedly confirmed it had been stolen in St. Paul.
Walton denied knowing the firearm was in the trunk, according to the complaint, and said he hadn’t been driving the vehicle apart from that day and the prior day. Agents reported seeing him drive the vehicle earlier despite having a revoked license.
He went on to admit he’d been driving the vehicle for about a month, the complaint states. A friend loaned him the vehicle, he reportedly said, and he received the firearm from a friend for protection in July 2023.
Walton’s previous convictions, barring him from legal possession of a firearm, include felony burglary in 2020, felony assault in 2017 and felony robbery in 2016, all in Blue Earth County.