A federal jury found a man guilty of criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a weapon in a crash that killed five people

After just a few hours of deliberation, a federal jury found a man guilty of drug and weapons charges in connection with a crash that killed five young women in Minneapolis last summer.

On Friday, Derrick John Thompson of Brooklyn Park was found guilty of the following federal charges:

• Possession with intent to distribute fentanyl
• Illegal possession of a firearm as a felon
• Carrying a firearm during or in connection with a drug trafficking crime

The verdict came after a trial that began earlier this week. Court documents show jurors received the case just after 4 p.m. Thursday and finished deliberating less than an hour later. They then reconvened at 8:30 a.m. on Friday.

In the federal complaint, officials say the amount of drugs found in Thompson’s vehicle after the crash exceeds the “user-used amount” and is consistent with the distribution and sale of drugs. Additionally, Thompson is prohibited from carrying a firearm because he has a prior felony conviction.

Thompson was indicted in December after prosecutors filed a complaint six months earlier regarding those charges. In 2015, he was convicted of fifth-degree drug possession and also pleaded guilty to numerous charges related to a 2018 California traffic accident that seriously injured a woman.

At the state level, Thompson faces 10 counts of vehicular homicide. Last month, Hennepin County Prosecutor Mary Moriarty announced five additional third-degree murder charges.

Moriarty previously said her office “will seek separate sentencing for each victim if Thompson is convicted.”

According to court records, a Minnesota State Trooper saw a Cadillac Escalade SUV traveling north in the far left lane of Interstate 35W at 150 km/h. The officer reported the Cadillac was weaving in and out of traffic lanes. Before the officer could initiate a traffic stop, the Cadillac crossed all four lanes and exited Lake Street in Minneapolis.

The Cadillac then ran a red light at the intersection of Lake Street and Second Avenue South before hitting a car with five young women inside. They were later identified as Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gessade, Salma Abdikadir, Sagal Hersi and Siham Adam.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says Thompson, the driver of the Cadillac, fled the crash but was later found at a nearby Taco Bell with a broken hip and a cut to his head. When asked how he was injured, Thompson told officers it was an old cut and that he had fallen earlier that evening.

At the scene, Minneapolis police officers found a receipt from Hertz Rental Car stating that Thompson was the renter of the vehicle. The witness later provided law enforcement with video of the accident, which shows Thompson approaching the witness and asking for a ride. A second witness who witnessed the crash identified Thompson in the lineup as the driver of the Cadillac, saying his identification was “100 percent positive.”

After the crash, officers searched Thompson’s rental car and found a loaded Glock handgun with an extended magazine, as well as baggies containing more than 2,100 fentanyl pills, 14 grams of fentanyl powder, 13 MDMA pills and 35 grams of cocaine, federal prosecutors say.

Court records show Thompson had rented the vehicle 24 minutes before the crash.

Minneapolis police also confirmed to 5 EYEWITNESSES that Thompson is the son of former state representative John Thompson.