Rosemount Man Charged with Scamming County Drug Agents

A Rosemount man has been charged with theft and possession of an illegal sawed-off shotgun after police say he offered to help county drug agents buy an illegal weapon already in his possession, then scammed authorities out of most of the “government buy fund” money he was given.

Justin John Cloud, 21, is charged with two felonies, each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, Cloud told members of the Dakota County Drug Task Force in May 2010 that he could buy an illegal shotgun from an unnamed individual, and he was given $400 of marked government buy fund money to complete the transaction.

Cloud arranged to meet with his contact on June 1, 2010, and officers saw the man hand Cloud a bundle containing an illegal sawed-off shotgun. Agents seized the gun, which had a barrel measuring about 11¾ inches, as evidence, and Cloud told agents he had given his contact $400 in buy fund money for the gun.

Police later spoke to the man who handed Cloud the gun. The man told police that Cloud had initially contacted him and asked him to hold on to a gun for him. He said he met Cloud in the parking lot of a Rosemount business, and Cloud gave him the gun.

Shortly afterward, Cloud contacted the man and said he wanted the gun back. The man said he arranged to meet Cloud in Lakeville on June 1, 2010 – the exchange arranged with drug agents – and he said he returned the gun to Cloud, who gave him $50.

Officers then confronted Cloud, who admitted that he had received the shotgun a few months before the June 1 exchange because he had agreed to hang on to it for a friend who was in jail, according to the complaint.

Cloud said he set up a meeting with his contact, gave him the gun to hold, then contacted the task force and told them he could make arrangements for an undercover purchase of an illegal shotgun, the complaint says.

Cloud admitted contacting his friend a second time to retrieve the shotgun, giving him $50 of the government buy fund money and keeping the remaining $350 for himself.

Cloud is scheduled to make a first appearance on the charges Nov. 21 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.