Local Restaurant Owner Pleads to Felon In Possession of Firearms and Ammunition Charge

Contact Person: Stacey D. Haynes (803) 929-3000

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated that Nigel Michael Sandiford, a/k/a “Marvin H. Rogers,” a/k/a “Cecil Price,” age 43, of Columbia, plead guilty in federal court today to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). Senior United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie of Columbia accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after she has reviewed the presentence report, which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

Evidence presented in court during the guilty plea hearing established that July 18, 2016, federal agents executed a search warrant at Sandiford’s Montego Bay restaurant on Parklane Road in Columbia. Inside the restaurant, agents located a Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun, a Glock .45 caliber handgun, as well as a high capacity magazine, and assorted rounds of 12 gauge shotgun shells, .40 caliber ammunition, .45 caliber ammunition, and 9mm ammunition. Sandiford admitted to possessing the firearms and ammunition and to having a prior Richland County drug conviction under the alias “Marvin H. Rogers.” Sandiford is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms based upon his prior state conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Sandiford faces a maximum of ten years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release on the felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition charge. Sandiford, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, is also currently facing deportation proceedings.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office handled the case.

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