Columbia, South Carolina — Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart announced today that Aaron Shawayne Griffin, 29, of Aiken, was sentenced to ten years in federal prison after pleading guilty to felon in possession of ammunition and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Evidence presented to the court showed that on September 5, 2018, a deputy with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department stopped Griffin for speeding. As the deputy approached the passenger side of the vehicle, he could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, deputies located a backpack containing a large amount of cash, over 800 grams of methamphetamine, and two firearm magazines loaded with .40 caliber ammunition and 9mm ammunition.
Griffin’s prior record includes a 2010 simple possession of marijuana and resisting arrest and a 2015 misprision of a felony. Griffin is a validated gang member and was on probation at the time of the offense.
United States District Judge J. Michelle Childs sentenced Griffin to 120 months in federal prison, to be followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.
The case was prosecuted as part of the as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, 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.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Casey Rankin Smith prosecuted the case.
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