Kosciusko Man Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison for Possessing Stolen Gun

Jackson, Miss. – Jermaine Griffin, 31, of Kosciusko, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Tom S. Lee to 10 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a stolen gun, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Dana Nichols of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

Griffin bought a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol off the street—even though he suspected the gun was stolen—because the gun was new and only cost $100. Griffin later learned that the man who sold him the gun had recently burglarized Central Mississippi Firearms, a gun store in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Griffin then sold the stolen pistol in Durant, Mississippi.

On October 3, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Griffin. The grand jury also indicted the men who burglarized the gun store and who helped sell the stolen guns in Durant, Pickens, and Lexington. Those men are Estelle Cook, Jr., Corey Hughes, Darnell Branch, and Frederick Russell.  All of the defendants have pled guilty.

At Griffin’s sentencing hearing today, Judge Lee imposed a 10-month sentence. Estelle Cook, Jr. was sentenced to 10 years in prison yesterday. The other defendants will be sentenced in June.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Jackson Police Department. It was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in Jackson, Mississippi.