Loaded Handgun Lands Convicted Felon Back in Prison

Damarian K. Griffin, 22, of East St. Louis, Illinois, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Steven D. Weinhoeft, announced today. Griffin pleaded guilty to a one-count federal indictment in January 2019.

On February 9, 2018, while driving in East St. Louis, Griffin knowingly possessed a Glock 19, 9mm pistol loaded with an extended magazine containing 16 live rounds. Investigators determined that he had purchased the pistol in Columbia, Missouri, and had transported it back to East St. Louis. At the time, Griffin was prohibited from possessing a gun due to a 2015 felony conviction for carjacking in St. Clair County – a crime for which he was previously sentenced to 4½ years in prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This prosecution is the result of a collaborative investigation by the East St. Louis Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ali M. Summers, James G. Piper, Jr., and Alexandria M. Burns.