Authorities drop weapons charges against Vadnais Heights man

Ramsey County authorities have dropped weapons charges against a Vadnais Heights man who was arrested in March after his teenage son allegedly made threats of a school shooting.

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office issued a statement Thursday saying that further investigation prompted the decision to drop the charges against Christopher Stowe.

Prosecutors "determined that the evidence did not support any felony-level charges against Christopher Stowe. This case will be returned to the investigating agency, and they may refer this case to the city attorney for consideration of misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor level charges," attorney's office spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein said in a written statement.

Stowe was arrested and charged with two felony counts of possession of illegal weapons in March after authorities said they found a cache of weapons at the Stowe home. He also was charged with a gross misdemeanor charge of negligent storage of firearms, but that charge was also dropped in the wake of the felony charges being dropped. The state would not prosecute the gross misdemeanor without an accompanying felony count.

Stowe's attorney, Bruce Rivers of Rivers Law Firm in Minneapolis, said it "was a classic case of government overreach. Mr. Stowe was never guilty of the crimes he was accused of, and for him to be charged before they had any evidence shows a lack of regard for his rights."

Stowe was arrested and charged with two felony counts of possession of illegal weapons in March after authorities said they found a cache of weapons at the Stowe home.

That search came after Stowe's 13-year-old son allegedly made a threatening comment to another student at the Academy for Sciences and Agriculture.

The criminal complaint had alleged that an agent from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the scene and told investigators that one of the guns met the legal definition of a machine gun and another met the legal definition for a short-barreled shotgun, both of which are potentially illegal to possess.

At the time of the arrest, Stowe's father, Mark Stowe, questioned the search and seizure of the family's guns, saying that the weapons were collectibles.

Christopher Stowe's wife, Lisa, was charged in Vadnais Heights with a gross misdemeanor count of negligent storage of firearms in connection with the case. Their son was charged in juvenile court with threats of violence.