TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee man who served prison time for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon has been arrested again on that charge.
Michael Leonard Griffin, 32, was booked into the Leon County Detention Center on Monday and remained there Wednesday on $12,500 bond.
Griffin was arrested for possessing a firearm by a convicted felon, removing the serial number from a firearm, resisting an officer without violence and possessing narcotic equipment.
On Jan. 11, 2018, Griffin was arrested on narcotics charges, according to a probable cause affidavit completed by a Tallahassee Police Department officer.
His most recent arrest came as he was a passenger in an SUV on which an officer made a traffic stop.
As Griffin stepped out of the vehicle, the officer wrote, a gas mask bong, which is used to smoke illegal narcotics, fell from Griffin's lap onto the floorboard.
When an officer handcuffed Griffin, Griffin pulled away from him and ran away until the officer pulled Griffin backward, causing Griffin to fall to the ground.
Another officer helped the first one control Griffin and put him in a patrol car.
Searching the SUV, the officers looked into a basket on the back seat and, under clothes, found a loaded handgun and magazine. The gun's serial number had been sanded or scratched off, the officer wrote.
Also found on the backseat were a glass jar with marijuana "shake" inside of it and an electronic scale, the court document said.
After the men were read their Miranda Warnings, the driver said he did not own the basket and said it belonged to Griffin.
Griffin told the officer the basket and its contents were his and his girlfriend had packed his belongings after they had argued. He said he was in the process of moving from her house.
But, when the officer asked Griffin specifically about the gun, Griffin said his girlfriend has a gun and claimed no knowledge of the gun or the ammunition that were in the laundry basket.
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