Five-Time Convicted Felon Found Guilty After Confronting Detectives While Concealing A Stolen Pistol

Jacksonville, Florida – A federal jury has found Gregory Greer (35) guilty of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Greer was indicted on September 21, 2017.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on August 17, 2017, members of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office vice squad were conducting an undercover operation at the Hometown Inn and Suites in the Southpoint area of Jacksonville. As the officers were making a prostitution arrest inside a hotel room, Greer knocked on the door. A detective answered the doored and asked Greer how he could be helped, but Greer continued to gesture toward the prostitution arrestee, attempting to get her attention. Greer provided his Georgia identification card to assisting officers, one of whom observed Greer making repeated hand movements toward his right side. The officers instructed Greer to sit on the floor of the hotel hallway, and he complied.

After repeatedly warning Greer not to make movements toward his right side with his hand, and advising Greer that he was going to pat down him for safety reasons, Greer said “ok,” stood up, and immediately began running for the hotel stairwell. As officers gave chase down the stairs, through the hotel parking lot, and through the back lots of several businesses, a detective heard a sound consistent with a metal gun being dropped in the stairwell. Another responding officer ran towards the stairwell and found a discarded .45 caliber pistol. Following a brief pursuit, Greer was arrested and officers located an empty nylon pistol holster on his right hip. The rightful owner of the pistol testified that it had been stolen from his home in 2015.

At the time of the incident, Greer had five prior felony convictions, including aggravated fleeing from a law enforcement officer, distribution of PCP, escape, possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, and possession of a controlled substance. As such, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In October 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to develop districtwide crime reduction strategies, incorporating the lessons learned since the program’s inception in 2001. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.