DNA Testing Links Rochester Man to Loaded Gun Found During Traffic Stop

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- Rounds of DNA testing have led to a gun crime charge against a Rochester man. 

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That’s according to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court earlier this week. 

The Minnesota State Patrol found the firearm during a traffic stop more than two years ago. 

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DNA Testing Links Rochester Felon to Gun Found During 2022 Traffic Stop

34-year-old Travis Martel Rios is charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a violent crime. 

The criminal complaint says he was riding in a vehicle that was stopped for expired registration by a state trooper at a northwest Rochester business on October 7, 2022. 

Rios, who was identified as the driver, told the trooper there was a gun in the vehicle. A fight then broke out in the vehicle involving Rios and two other passengers, the court document says. 

Law enforcement searched the vehicle and found a loaded Glock pistol, the complaint says. Rios denied being in possession of the firearm. 

In February of 2024, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension conducted a DNA test of the firearm and found samples from five different people. 

Investigators obtained a search warrant to collect a DNA sample from Rios and a second test indicated there was “very strong support” that Rio’s DNA was on the gun, the complaint says. 

Court records indicate Rios was convicted of felony domestic assault in Olmsted County in 2016, a crime that makes him ineligible to posses a firearm. 

Rios is charged by summons. His first court appearance has not yet been scheduled.