United States District Court Judge Paul A. Magnuson sentenced Wesley Noah Banks on one count of illegal possession of a machine gun and one count of illegal distribution of explosive materials. Banks was charged on Feb. 14 and pleaded guilty on March 24.
In his plea agreement, Banks admitted that on Jan. 29, 2010, he received a model AR-15 machine gun. He also admitted that on June 7, 2010, he distributed two destructive devices to Bruce Wayne Leathart. Moreover, Banks admitted that on April 23, 2010, he sold Leathart four explosive devices, commonly known as M-80s. Leathart was sentenced on Nov. 24, 2010, to 27 months in federal prison on one count of illegal possession of a machine gun.
“Building improvised destructive devices is a self-critiquing activity and one without second chances,” said Bernard J. Zapor, special agent in charge of the St. Paul Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), following Banks’ sentencing, “These items often kill the bomb maker. In this case, a partnership of dedicated law enforcement officers prevented further risk to the public.”
“Weapons have become a commonly encountered and dangerous component utilized by drug traffickers to protect their illegal operations,” said Dan Moren, assistant special agent in charge of the Minneapolis-St. Paul office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
“In this case, a substantial cache of weapons – machine guns, machine gun components, explosives and chemicals used to produce explosives – were seized at the same location where Mr. Banks operated a large-scale indoor marijuana grow operation. Collaborative efforts with the ATF as well as our strong partnership with local law enforcement resulted in an investigation that ceased the growing of marijuana that would have made it to our streets, while also keeping numerous weapons and explosives from potentially being used to perpetrate violence.”
On June 8, a federal search warrant was executed at Banks’ home in a secluded area of south Savage at 15474 Dakota Ave. There, authorities seized additional bombs, chemicals used to manufacture explosives, 29 firearms, including seven suspected machine guns, components to manufacture more machine guns, and an indoor grow operation containing nearly 100 marijuana plants.
Law enforcement officials were there for four days. During that time, the St. Paul Police Department’s bomb squad detonated several explosive devices.
This case was the result of an investigation by the St. Paul Police Department, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, the DEA, and the ATF.
According to court records, Banks’ criminal history only involves convictions for petty misdemeanor traffic citations.
The Savage Police said their only contact with Banks was in 1999 when he reported a burglary, but that incident did not occur at the home on Dakota Avenue.
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