"Real Time": Greenville Man Enters Guilty Plea in Federal Court to Felon in Possession of a Firearm

Greenville, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Dustin Gregory Martin, age 46, of Greenville, South Carolina, pled guilty Monday in federal court in Greenville, for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, a violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g).  United States District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs of Greenville accepted the plea and will impose sentence after she has reviewed the presentence report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.  Martin faces up to ten years in federal prison.

Evidence presented by the government during the plea established that on April 5, 2017, members of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) arrested Martin on an outstanding warrant at a motel on Augusta Road in Greenville. A search pursuant to Martin’s arrest resulted in the seizure of a Glock 9mm pistol from under the pillow on the bed in the motel room.

Martin was arrested federally as part of “Operation Real-Time.”  The goal of this program is to identify individuals for federal prosecution with significant criminal histories who continue to actively possess firearms in the Upstate community. 

In addition to GCSO and ATF, Real Time’s core partners include the Greenville Police Department, the Anderson Police Department, the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, the South Carolina Highway Patrol, United States Probation; the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office. 

Since August of 2015, the initiative has resulted in the expedited federal prosecution of 118 defendants and seizure of 162 firearms as well as assorted ammunition from prohibited persons.

U.S. Attorney Beth Drake commended the partnership between the state and federal agencies that led to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the U.S. Attorney’s Office adopting the case, “We work best when we work together.  This ‘real time’ identification of high risk offenders is smart policing, and we welcome the opportunity to work alongside our state chiefs and sheriffs in taking violent repeat offenders out of our communities.”

The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office along with the ATF investigated the case. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Max Cauthen.

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