MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis mother is accused of arming her teenage son, who allegedly used the gun to commit several crimes.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has filed multiple charges against Tashalon Adams, including a felony offense of aiding an offender.

According to court documents, Minneapolis police recovered a total of four guns from Adams’ Cedar Avenue South apartment during a search last June.

Minneapolis mom arrested: What the charges say

What we know:

According to court documents, Adams admitted to holding onto a gun for her son at their apartment and then giving the firearm to him when he told her he needed it for protection.

Minneapolis police say her son is connected to several crimes, including armed carjackings and robberies.

In addition to aiding an offender, Adams is facing lesser charges of providing a gun to an ineligible person as well as contributing to the delinquency of a child.

“It takes all of us in the community to try and address these issues around illegal guns, shootings and particularly stuff with gun violence involving juveniles,” O’Hara said. “So, we need community, we need community partners, and we certainly need parents to be doing their role responsibly.”

The backstory:

Chief O’Hara said officers were conducting a search of Adams’ residence as part of an investigation involving four juvenile males, including her son. Police believed the teen boys, 14 to 16 years old, were armed after fleeing police. That search reportedly uncovered four guns, including a black Smith and Wesson that she admitted she hides behind her bed for when he needs the gun for protection.

According to court filings, when asked if she knew her son was involved in carjackings or robberies, she replied she does not know anything about that because “that’s [her son’s] personal life.”

“Obviously, there is a flow of illegal guns into the city. But in particular, with juveniles, we want to identify and we want to charge to the fullest extent of the law any adult out here getting guns into the hands of kids,” explained Chief O’Hara, who hopes other parents and adults take note of the charges in this case.

What they’re saying:

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty provided the following statement to FOX 9:

“Guns in young hands lead to tragedy, from accidental discharges to outright violence. In this case, Tashalon Adams facilitated access to a firearm for her child who she knew was not legally permitted to possess it. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has charged her with one count of aiding an offender, one count of transferring a firearm to a disqualified person, and one count of contributing to delinquency of a child.”

A Minneapolis duplex could be condemned after tenants say they were stuck without heat and hot water in freezing temperatures for a week.

The Verde Property Management Company property manager said as of Tuesday they’ve restored heat to about two-thirds of the building.

A tenant said she did not see a sense of urgency to fix the problem until the city of Minneapolis stepped in.

“This is just not humane to have anybody living like this,” Capri Rogers, tenant, said

For nearly a week, Rodgers said her family did not have heat or hot water.

“My son slept in his coat. My daughter’s room read at 48 degrees,” Rogers said. “My 8-month-old son is sick with a terrible cough.”

Rodgers showed us messages that confirmed she told Verde Property Management Company about the problem last Tuesday, Dec. 31. 

She said days later, the company insulated the windows with plastic and supplied space heaters, but it was still cold.

“I don’t feel like I’ve been heard and that’s why I called the news because I just feel like they’re very like inconsiderate,” Rogers said.

As a last resort, on Sunday, Rogers called the police for help.

On Monday, a city inspector slapped a “Notice Intent to Condemn” on the front door. The notice explained the property is unfit to live in because of the “lack of required heat” and the building would be condemned if the heat is not fixed by Friday, Jan. 10.

“This should be a message to tenants and landlords that we have rights and landlords need to uphold their bargain when it comes to tenants, regardless of where they come from, what neighborhood it’s in, or anything like that,” Rodgers said.

Jeremy Pekarek, Verde Property Management Company, said they’ve been sending out boiler technicians to fix the frozen pipes.

“We’ve been doing our best to try to identify the situation and figure out exactly what’s going on with the property,” he said. “I agree with her, it has been cooler than normal, and I know it’s a tough situation for them.”

During the interview, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS saw a maintenance technician walk in to check the radiator.

Pekarek said they plan to use the space heaters to thaw the pipes so they can restore heat to the entire building.

He said the building’s heat will be fixed by the city’s deadline.

If a landlord or property manager does not take immediate steps to restore the heat in your building, you can report it to the city by calling 311 or 612-673-3000.

The city website says an inspector will respond to you the same day.