Saint Paul Police Federation
. 831 Como Avenue - Saint Paul, MN 55103 - (P) 651-227-4998 . (F) 651-227-7982 5?5

 

 

Concerned Members of the
Saint Paul Law Enforcement Community

October 24, 2017

Melvin Carter
428 Aurora Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55102

Dear Mr. Carter,

As concerned members of the Saint Paul law enforcement community, we are writing
this letter to request answers from you to several important questions related to the
recent burglary that occurred at your home.

As you well know, this continues to be a very challenging time for Saint Paul as people
across our community are dealing with record levels of crime and gun?related violence.
Your neighborhood over the past weekend has unfortunately experienced two gun?
related homicides and another shooting incident in which a passenger in a car received
serious injuries after being struck by a bullet ?red from a passing vehicle.

As someone who has represented Ward 1 and been involved in other efforts to support
the community, you know ?rst-hand the impact more guns on the street are having on
Saint Paul. While an individual has been arrested as part of the investigation related to
the burglary of your home on August 151?, there are unfortunately several questions we
believe need to be answered. Investigators have still not been able to locate the missing
guns or the ammunition that was taken from your residence.

We strongly believe that voters across the city deserve answers to these questions as
they prepare to cast ballots in what is an incredibly important election that will impact
and shape the future of our community.

Respectfully, we ask the following questions related to the incident at your home in
hopes that you will be able to share information with investigators and the broader Saint
Paul community:

I Why have you not provided the serial numbers of the guns stolen from your
house to the Saint Paul Police investigators?

I Why did you keep the guns in a metal box that was not secured or a?ixed?

I Why did you store ammunition in the bag with the box that contained the two
guns?

I Where in your home did you store the bag with the guns in them and how
accessible was this area to others in your home?

I How did you acquire the two guns and where were they purchased?

I Did the guns taken from your home have any safety devices attached to make it
harder for someone to use either weapon? If not, why?

I Have you ever taken or completed a gun safety course?

I You waited 50 minutes from when you were notified that someone had broken

into your house before calling police instead of calling police immediately.
Why?

We realize this is a sensitive matter but believe the risk to the community from two
additional guns on the streets of Saint Paul at a time of increased violence and as the city
gets closer to Election Day creates the need to ask for your answers.

We respectfully request that you provide answers and related information to these
questions in hopes that it will help investigators ?nd the two missing guns before they
could be used in other criminal activity.

Respectfully submitted,

The men and women of the Saint Paul Police Federation