Man Arrested for Armed Burglary in Baytown Township Pleads Guilty to Federal Weapons Charge

The 42-year-old St. Paul man who pulled a stolen gun on an Xcel meter reader in Baytown Township this summer pleaded guilty to federal weapons charges.

Michael Scott Canfield—described by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as a “career criminal”—pleaded guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Canfield pointed a .45-caliber, semi-automatic pistol at an Xcel employee who foiled a burglary at a home in the 13700 block of 47th Street Court. Canfield then fled the scene.

Detectives later found a .45 caliber handgun on the ground next to a tree in the woods adjacent to where Canfield’s vehicle was parked in Stillwater.

Because he is a felon, Canfield is prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm at any time.

In his plea agreement, Canfield admitted that on June 25 he was in possession of a Colt, .45-caliber handgun after having been convicted of one or more felony crimes. He also admitted that the handgun had traveled in interstate commerce prior to his possession of the weapon.

Canfield’s prior felony convictions include:

• Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in Ramsey County in 1988;
• Damage to property in Ramsey County in 1989;
• Receiving stolen property in Ramsey County in 1991 and again in 1993;
• Theft in Ramsey County in 1992 and again in 1994;
• Fleeing a peace officer in Ramsey County in 2006;
• Receiving stolen property in Kanebec County in 1993;
• Second-degree burglary in Sherburne County in 1996;
• Fleeing police in a motor vehicle in Dakota County in 2006;
• First-degree burglary (two counts) in Stearns County in 2006;
• Recklessly endangering safety in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, in 2000.

Since at least three of Canfield’s prior offenses constitute crimes of violence, sentencing in the current federal case is subject to the federal Armed Career Criminal Act.

That act mandates a minimum of 15 years in federal prison; and because the federal system does not have parole, offenders spend virtually their entire prison sentences behind bars.

Judge Joan N. Ericksen will determine Canfield’s sentence at a future hearing, not yet scheduled.