A federal jury in Jacksonville has convicted 55-year-old John Flowers Grissom of two federal gun crimes, a verdict that now puts him on the hook for at least 15 years in prison and potentially life. Sentencing is set for September 30, 2026.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, jurors found Grissom guilty of possessing ammunition as a convicted felon and possessing an unregistered, privately made short-barreled rifle that did not have a serial number. Prosecutors said the complaint was filed in November 2024 and that the jury heard testimony about a September 30, 2024 incident in which Grissom pointed the weapon at three young men who drove past his home.
District court filings and a recent court order outline Grissom’s criminal record and how the case unfolded. FindLaw records show multiple prior felony convictions, which prosecutors cited in arguing for an enhanced sentence under federal recidivist laws.
Evidence Recovered From the Home
When law enforcement searched Grissom’s residence, they said they found rifle ammunition hidden in a toilet, an AR-style upper receiver tucked under the bedcovers, and the rifle’s lower receiver and stock concealed in a hole cut into the box spring. A bolt carrier and an ammunition magazine turned up in the trash, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Investigators measured the rifle’s barrel at about 8.5 inches and noted that it was not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
Legal Stakes and What the Charges Mean
Federal law bars convicted felons from having guns or ammunition under 18 U.S.C. § 922, and separately makes it a crime to possess an unregistered short-barreled rifle under 26 U.S.C. § 5861, according to the Legal Information Institute and the Legal Information Institute. The Armed Career Criminal Act can layer on a 15-year mandatory minimum prison term for defendants prosecuted under § 922(g) who have three qualifying prior violent-felony or serious-drug convictions, as detailed by the Congressional Research Service.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office led the investigation, and prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office handled the case, according to local reporting and court records. First Coast News reviewed the federal release and local filings in its coverage.
With sentencing on the calendar for late 2026, the jury’s decision removes what authorities described as an alleged armed threat from the neighborhood and highlights how federal prosecutors are using short-barreled weapon cases and felon-in-possession laws to pursue lengthy prison terms for repeat offenders.
