Hopkins man who discharged firearm in the Columbia city limits sentenced to federal prison

Image: Department of Justice (D.O.J.)

Image: Department of Justice (D.O.J.)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)– A Hopkins man has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, says the DOJ.

Evidence obtained during the investigation revealed that on Dec. 12, 2021, City of Columbia Police Department officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert at a residence on Fairfield Road.

When officers arrived  Tyrone Grailford was standing near the open passenger side door of a vehicle and told officers the gunshot came from another location, says the DOJ.

Officers detained Grailford and found a spent shell casing on the ground near where he was standing.

Also officers found a firearm sitting on the passenger’s seat of the vehicle, according to the Dept of Justice.

Witnesses confirmed the gunshot came from the yard of the Fairfield Road home and one witness who heard the gunshot saw Grailford standing near the passenger’s side of the vehicle immediately after.

Officers placed Grailford under arrest and found a box of 9mm ammunition in his pocket.

Grailford has prior convictions for burglary, assault and battery with intent to kill, threatening the life of a public official, and domestic violence second degree, all of which prohibits him from possessing a firearm under federal law.

He was sentenced by a United States district judge to 77 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision.