Felon with a gun gets seven years
Brian David Riggins
By DEUCE NIVEN
tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com
Fleeing from deputies in a stolen car, then dropping a stolen handgun during a short foot pursuit will put a convicted felon from Tabor City in federal prison for seven years, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr. announced Wednesday.
US District Court Judge James C. Dever III sentenced Brian David Riggins, 26, to the seven year prison term, followed by three years of supervised release, Higdon said in a news release.
Riggins was charged in a June 6, 2018 federal indictment, entered a guilty plea last Aug. 23 to the charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
His federal charge was a result of local charges that followed a Sept. 7, 2017 incident involving a car stolen in Horry County and recovered by the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office following a chase.
His arrest followed a brief police pursuit that began with deputies and detectives spotted the stolen Chevrolet Impala on Pine Circle Drive in the Green Acres subdivision at about 10 a.m. that Thursday.
As deputies began a traffic stop, the Impala “sped away,” a sheriff’s spokeswoman said, that pursuit ending on James Street in Green Acres as Riggins “exited the vehicle and began to flee on foot.”
As he ran, Riggins dropped a Taurus .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun and a bag containing 2.6 grams of crack cocaine. Deputies identified the handgun as stolen.
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