Myrtle Beach Man Pleads to Federal Firearm Charge

Florence, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon stated that Michael Jamal Grice, age 35, of Myrtle Beach, plead guilty this week in federal court to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2), and 924(e). United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell, of Florence, accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report, which will be prepared by the United States Probation Office.

Evidence presented in court established that on June 1, 2017, an officer with the Myrtle Beach Police Department was on patrol when he observed Grice make an improper right-hand turn from Canal Street onto Highway 501.  A traffic stop was conducted and upon approaching, the officer smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.  The vehicle was searched and police located a stolen Springfield 9mm handgun. 

Grice is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition based upon his prior convictions. Grice has a prior state conviction for possession with intent to distribute marijuana and a prior federal conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  

Grice faces a maximum of 10 years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and 3 years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Myrtle Beach Police Department and was prosecuted as part of Project CeaseFire, a joint federal, state and local initiative focused upon aggressively prosecuting firearm cases in an effort to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer. Project CeaseFire is South Carolina’s implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a crime reduction strategy originally launched in 2001. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority and reinstituted PSN nationwide. Special Assistant United States Attorney David P. Caraker, Jr., of the Florence office handled the case.  Caraker is employed by the Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office as a Senior Assistant Solicitor, and undertook this case in a joint effort with federal authorities to prosecute firearm cases.

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