St. Paul man appears in court for illegal possession of a firearm in Rochester

(ABC 6 News) — A St. Paul man appeared in Olmsted County court on Friday for charges of illegal possession of a firearm, possessing or operating a machine gun, and evading police.

Richard Larue Taylor, 30, was arrested earlier this month in Rochester.

According to court documents, Ramsey County deputies were following Taylor in order to arrest him due to an active warrant. Deputies tracked him from St. Paul to Rochester where they attempted to arrest him at a gas station.

Taylor exited the vehicle and ran from the location but was eventually caught by deputies.

While searching Taylor, a Glock handgun was found with an extended magazine and a semi-automatic sear switch installed on it, which makes a semi-automatic handgun a fully automatic handgun. Under Minnesota law, this qualifies as a machine gun.

Court documents state Taylor was previously convicted of illegal firearm possession and 2nd-degree assault.

If convicted, Taylor would face up to 15 years in prison, a $30,000 fine, or both.