NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

JOHN F. WOOD

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

AUGUST 22, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KC MAN CHARGED WITH ILLEGAL FIREARM;

OFFICER INJURED DURING ARREST

            KANSAS CITY, Mo. – John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was charged in federal court today with illegally possessing a firearm.

             Stanford C. Griswold, 23, of Kansas City, was charged with being an unlawful user of marijuana while in possession of a firearm in a federal criminal complaint filed this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Kansas City.

             Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who is a user or addicted to a controlled substance to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Griswold was allegedly in possession of a loaded Intratec 9 mm pistol.

             According to an affidavit filed in support of today’s criminal complaint, Griswold was arrested on Aug. 21, 2007. Law enforcement officers from several agencies were involved in a metro-wide warrant sweep called Operation Falcon. At approximately 2:45 p.m., officers noticed Griswold sitting in a Ford Taurus in the driveway of a residence where they were attempting to locate a subject who was wanted for an outstanding warrant. Officers would later determine that Griswold was actually the cousin of that subject.

             Because Griswold fit the description of the wanted subject, officers ordered him to stop when he exited the vehicle and approached the residence. Griswold refused to obey the repeated commands from the officers as they approached, the affidavit says, and attempted to enter the residence. Officers attempted to detain Griswold on the front porch, but he violently resisted, the affidavit says, pushing and pulling in an attempt to free himself from their restraints.

             During the struggle, three federal law enforcement officers were attempting to subdue Griswold, according to the affidavit. A fourth officer responded to the scene and allegedly saw Griswold pull a firearm from his waistband. According to the affidavit, however, the firearm was so large that, after Griswold had pulled nearly eight inches of the barrel from his shorts, the barrel became caught in his shorts and Griswold could not pull it completely out. The fourth officer pulled the weapon from Griswold’s waistband, the affidavit says, and threw it away from the struggle that was still in progress. After a few moments, Griswold was arrested.

             According to the affidavit, a federal agent with the Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General was injured while attempting to arrest Griswold. The agent received a fracture to his arm that allegedly occurred during the struggle to subdue Griswold.

             Officers conducted a search of Griswold and recovered a Crown Royal bag tucked into his waistband that contained five small bags of marijuana.

             The wanted subject who was being sought by the officers was located inside the residence and arrested without incident.

            Wood cautioned that the charge contained in the complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Y. Tabor. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.