Columbia Man Involved in a Shooting Incident Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possession of a Firearm

Evidence presented to the Court showed that on the night of October 10, 2020, the Columbia Police Department (CPD) received a ShotSpotter alert from the Celia Saxon neighborhood. As CPD officers responded to the scene, Grier was fleeing in a white car. Officers tried to initiate a traffic stop, but Grier refused to stop and tried to elude law enforcement officers until he lost control of his car and stopped on a curb. Officers removed Grier from the car and found a discarded handgun near the passenger door. The slide of the gun was locked back, indicating the gun had been fired until the magazine was empty.

While Grier was in custody, officers found 10 spent shell casings near the area where they first saw Grier’s vehicle.  The shell casings were linked to the gun found near Grier’s car via a NIBIN lead. Officers also executed a search warrant to test Grier’s hands for gunshot residue. Analysts with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) confirmed the spent shell casings recovered by CPD were fired from the gun found near Grier’s car, and Grier had gunshot residue on his hands. Before this incident, Grier had multiple convictions for criminal domestic violence.

United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Eric Grier to 46 months in prison, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.

The case was prosecuted 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.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the City of Columbia Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lamar J. Fyall is prosecuting the case.

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