DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of South Carolina

For Immediate Release

Thursday, December 12, 2013
Bill Nettles
, United States Attorney
Contact: Stacey Haynes

Columbia Man Sentenced to 158 Months for Being Felon in Possession of Firearm and Ammunition

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that MICHAEL ANGELO KARRISON, age 48, of Columbia, South Carolina was sentenced yesterday in federal court. Earlier this year, KARRISON plead guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(e). Chief United States District Judge Terry L. Wooten of Columbia sentenced KARRISON to 158 months (13 years) imprisonment with five years of supervised release to follow the term of imprisonment.

Evidence presented at the earlier change of plea hearing established that at approximately 7:13 a.m. on June 23, 2012, an officer with the Columbia Police Department was on routine patrol in the Elmwood Avenue area when he noticed KARRISON sitting on a brick wall with an open can of Schlitz Malt Liquor next to him. KARRISON admitted the liquor was his and was placed under arrest for possession/consumption of alcohol in public. A search incident to arrest revealed a fully loaded Bersa .380 caliber handgun in KARRISON’s waistband. After advise of rights, KARRISON admitted to buying the firearm on the street. A check of a law enforcement database revealed that the firearm had previously been reported as stolen.

The investigation revealed that KARRISON, who had previously served time in the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) for various state offenses, had signed a SCDC form on three separate occasions (2004, 2007, and 2008) acknowledging that he was prohibited from possessing firearms due to his felony convictions. KARRISON is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and/or ammunition based upon his prior state convictions dating back to 1983 for housebreaking, grand larceny, distribution of marijuana, armed robbery (two separate counts), strong arm robbery, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine, assault on a correctional employee, attempted carjacking, unlawful carrying of a firearm (2 separate counts), and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

The case was investigated by the Columbia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office handled the case.

Charlotte Field Division