Minneapolis man gets 20 years for 9th felony: ghost gun, high-speed chase through Twin Cities

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A Minneapolis man with a long history of violent crimes is heading to federal prison for 20 years after a jury found him guilty of illegally having ammunition.

Esau Sago gets 20 years in prison

What we know:

Esau Chucky Sago, 36, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release after being convicted of possessing ammunition as a repeat violent offender — his ninth felony conviction.

Background on the case

U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel handed down the sentence on Sept. 3, 2026. Sago was indicted on Feb. 26, 2025, and convicted on Nov. 18, 2025, following a two-day jury trial.

Court documents show that on Oct. 10, 2024, Sago knowingly had ammunition in his possession despite prior felony convictions that legally barred him from having either ammunition or a firearm. Because of his prior record — which includes two convictions for domestic assault and one conviction for domestic assault by strangulation — Sago qualified as an armed career criminal. That designation carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. He also had prior felony convictions for fleeing police in a motor vehicle, making threats of violence with reckless disregard for others and vehicle theft.

How the arrest unfolded

The backstory:

At approximately 12:45 a.m. on Oct. 10, 2024, New Hope Police Department officers spotted a white SUV with obstructed or missing license plates. The vehicle also appeared to have had a rushed paint job to make it look white, which officers noted was consistent with a stolen vehicle. Officers moved to stop the SUV, but Sago sped away.

What followed was a high-speed chase involving officers from the Crystal and Robbinsdale police departments. Sago drove through residential areas at speeds exceeding 70 mph for several miles before a Crystal Police Department officer used a PIT maneuver — a technique used to force a fleeing vehicle to spin out and stop — to end the pursuit.

Sago's SUV spun out and landed in a yard in Minneapolis, knocking over a fence before coming to rest on top of it. Officers arrested Sago, who was the only person in the vehicle. After the SUV was towed, an officer found a loaded handgun with no serial number — commonly called a ghost gun — on top of the fence the SUV had knocked down. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension forensic laboratory found Sago's DNA on the grip of the pistol, the base of the magazine, a round in the magazine and the round in the chamber.

What they're saying:

"The defendant is a danger to not only the community, but his conduct also placed law enforcement officers' lives at risk. Today's sentence protects public safety and ensures he is held accountable for his actions," said United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen.

Crime and Public SafetyMinneapolis