An Eden Prairie woman faces three charges after police say they found a loaded handgun in the passenger door of a vehicle during a late-night traffic stop last month.
Joy Shamon Ross, 41, is charged in Hennepin County District Court with carrying a pistol without a permit, a gross misdemeanor, and two misdemeanors: carrying a pistol while under the influence of alcohol and improper transport of a firearm.
According to the criminal complaint, an Eden Prairie officer ran a license-plate check just after midnight on Nov. 22 at a Holiday gas station and learned that a woman associated with the vehicle had a warrant. After the car left the station, officers pulled it over. Ross, the front-seat passenger, told police she had been drinking and said the driver was her sober ride. She was not the person connected to the warrant.
When an officer opened the passenger door, he saw a handgun in the door pocket. Ross said the gun was real but not hers. Police recovered a loaded Taurus Millennium PT111 G2 9mm with 12 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. Ross told officers she did not have a permit to carry in Minnesota or any other state.
She was booked and later released on a $6,000 non-cash bond under conditions that include remaining law-abiding, abstaining from alcohol and appearing for future court dates.
Ross is scheduled to make her first appearance Dec. 10 at Hennepin County District Court’s Ridgedale location.
