Gulfport, Miss. - Brian Keith Blalock, Jr., 25, of Pascagoula, Mississippi, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent-in-Charge Kurt Thielhorn with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Blalock will be sentenced by Judge Ozerden on Feb. 18, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
On March 20, 2019, the Pascagoula Police Department responded to a call about a drive-by shooting. Upon arriving at the scene, police officers spoke with residents who reported seeing a black car with dark colored windows and a missing front bumper leave the scene immediately after multiple shots were fired. A witness also reported that a man had been seen throwing something over a nearby fence. Police investigated and found a rifle, wrapped in clothing, at the location indicated by the witness. Police later determined that the description given of the man seen throwing the rifle matched the description of Blalock.
Officers searched the surrounding area and located the vehicle. When officers initiated a traffic stop, Blalock exited the vehicle and fled on foot. Officers secured the car for evidence and alerted other officers who were able to locate Blalock. Officers found sixteen 7.62 caliber ammunition shell casings in the car Blalock had been driving. It also was documented that Blalock was a habitual user of marijuana.
As part of an ATF investigation, the casings found in the car Blalock was driving, were identified as Tula 7.62 caliber ammunition casings, the same caliber as fired from the recovered rifle. Further examination by the ATF Forensic Science Laboratory in Atlanta showed the casings had been fired in the rifle recovered at the scene.
U.S. Attorney Hurst commended the coordinated investigation by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and by the City of Biloxi Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
