U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles announced Wednesday that Freddie Grant, 52, of Elgin was charged in a one-count indictment with being a felon in possession of ammunition.
/ LCSD
COLUMBIA (WACH) - A suspect in the disappearance of a missing Columbia teen has been indicted on a federal weapons charge, according to United States Attorney Bill Nettles.
Nettles announced Wednesday that Freddie Grant, 52, of Elgin was charged in a one-count indictment with being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Authorities say Grant could receive a maximum of 10 years in prison unless the court determines that he is an armed career criminal with three prior convictions for a violent felony or a serious drug offence. In that case, he would face a mandatory 15 years in jail and a maximum of life in prison.
Federal agents as well as investigators with the Richland County Sheriff's Department have looked into the case, according to officials. The case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative.
In separate incidents, Grant is accused of taking 15-year-old Gabbiee Swainson from her Columbia home during the early hours of August 18, according to Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott.
Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews tells WACH Fox that while his officers were discussing the search for missing Columbia teen Gabrielle Swainson, they brought up the case of Danny Wood, a homicide victim from October 2011.
Matthews says investigators discussed some similarities between Wood's death and Swainson's disappearance, and named Freddie Grant a person of interest.
Another missing female, Adriana Diana Laster of Homestead, Fla., was last seen with Grant on Sept. 3, 2011.
Laster was 28 years old when she went missing. Authorities are not saying Grant is connected with her disappearance, but they say she was last seen with him.
Anyone with information is asked to contact CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.
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