Rochester Man Convicted of Possessing Machine Gun & Other Charges

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man who was caught with a machine-pistol today entered guilty pleas to three felony charges stemming from two separate cases involving the illegal possession of firearms.

22-year-old Robert Alvin Cleaves was arrested in December after a Rochester police officer discovered a Glock 19 with a 30 round magazine on the floor in the rear passenger area of the car after it crashed into a tree along 9th Avenue Northwest. The criminal complaint noted the weapon had and "auto sear" or "switch" that converted the semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic firearm capable of firing 15 rounds in less than a second.

The court document says the crash occurred after the police officer performed a traffic stop. The officer reported seeing the vehicle stop abruptly after pulling out onto North Broadway from the area of the Northstar Bar. The charges state that the vehicle then went into the parking lot at the nearby McDonald's, where the officer recognized Cleaves as the person driving the vehicle with a revoked driver's license.

The criminal complaint says Cleaves initially pulled over and provided the officer with his Minnesota identification card. The court record alleged that he put the vehicle into gear and sped away after the officer spotted a 9 mm bullet in the bottom of the glove box when Cleaves opened it to retrieve his insurance information.

Following his arrest, Cleaves was charged with possessing a machine gun and illegal possession of any type of firearm and/or ammunition by a person convicted of a crime of violence. In his case, Cleaves had a previous conviction for domestic assault. He was also charged with a felony count of fleeing police. During a court appearance today, he admitted to the machine gun charge and the fleeing police offense.

Cleaves also entered a guilty plea to a charge of illegal possession of a firearm stemming from another traffic stop that occurred in June of this year. According to court records, he was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped for suspicion of impaired driving and was caught in possession of a so-called ghost gun.

He was also charged with a felony count involving the removal or alteration of a serial number on a firearm. That charge was dismissed, along with another charge of illegal possession of a firearm connected to the December case. A second-degree assault charge and a third count of illegal possession of a firearm involving another case were also dropped as part of the plea agreement.

In that case, it was alleged that Cleaves held the gun to another man's head. The criminal complaint says a witness told Rochester police the armed confrontation occurred after the other man attempted to purchase some marijuana from Cleaves and he came to believe that he was being "set up." That incident occurred last November.

Under the terms of the plea deal, Cleaves and Olmsted County prosecutors have agreed to an 84 month prison sentence for his convictions involving the machine gun, and 60 months in prison for his conviction for illegal possession of a firearm in the June case. The Petition to Enter Guilty Plea that was filed in Olmsted County Court does not state if those prison terms would be served consecutively or concurrently.

Cleaves' sentencing hearing is scheduled later this month.

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