State of Minnesota v. August Latimothy Fleming, 883 N.W.2d 790

Fleming pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by an ineligible person and second-degree assault tied to a single incident at Folwell Park in Minneapolis.
The incident involved Fleming firing six shots in a park crowded with children, after a knife stabbing by Doe and a brief pursuit.
Possession offense is continuing; the shots endangered bystanders and were within the same encounter as the assault.
The district court imposed an upward durational departure: 90 months for possession, plus a concurrent 36-month assault term, with stays of execution for eight years.
Fleming appealed claiming the firing related only to the assault and could not support the possession departure; the court of appeals affirmed; the supreme court granted review.
The central question is whether Minn. Stat. § 244.10, subd. 5a(b) allows upward departure based on an aggravating factor arising from the same course of conduct as another offense.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
May upward departure be based on an aggravating factor arising from the same course of conduct?	Fleming: factor relates to another offense, not the possession conduct	State: § 244.10, subd. 5a(b) allows it	Yes, permitted under § 244.10, subd. 5a(b).
Did firing six shots in a park with children make the possession offense significantly more serious?	Fleming: possession completed when gun taken; firing relates to assault	State: possession offense is continuing; firing increases danger	Yes, the conduct made possession more serious and supported departure.

State v. Banks, 331 N.W.2d 491 (Minn. 1983) (multi-offense rule limitations; relevant to precedent on multiple offenses)
State v. Zuehlke, 320 N.W.2d 79 (Minn. 1982) (same course of conduct analysis for multiple offenses)
State v. Johnson, 273 Minn. 394 (Minn. 1966) (single criminal objective; time/place factors)
State v. Misquadace, 644 N.W.2d 65 (Minn. 2002) (statutory interpretation; de novo review of law questions)
State v. Edwards, 774 N.W.2d 596 (Minn. 2009) (abuse-of-discretion standard for departures; statutory interpretation context)
State v. Banks, 331 N.W.2d 491 (Minn. 1983) (discusses multiple offenses and accompanying penalties)