Convicted felons plead guilty to firearms possession charges

MACON – Two Georgians with criminal pasts pleaded guilty to illegally possessing firearms resulting from separate Project Safe Neighborhoods investigations.

Travis Marcia Davis, 45, of Macon, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. If determined by the court to be an Armed Career Criminal, Davis faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years up to a maximum of life imprisonment to be followed by five years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine; if determined by the court not to be an Armed Career Criminal, Davis faces a maximum of 10 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

Johnny Grilliot, aka “Julio,” 48, of Calhoun pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Grilliot faces a maximum of 15 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

The hearings occurred before U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell. The sentencing dates for the defendants will be determined by the court. There is no parole in the federal system.

“These cases demonstrate the ongoing efforts by federal, state and local law enforcement in Macon and across the Middle District of Georgia to protect communities from gun violence,” U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said. “We are thankful for the valuable work of our law enforcement partners to help us hold these individuals accountable for crimes that jeopardize the safety of our communities.”

“Among ATF’s top priorities is ensuring that firearms traffickers are aggressively investigated and swiftly brought to justice,” Assistant Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Atlanta Field Division Beau Kolodka said. “This is an excellent example of such an investigation that was worked cooperatively by partner agencies with outstanding results.”

According to court documents and statements made in court in the Davis case, ATF began investigating Davis in May 2022 for firearms trafficking. Working with a confidential informant, agents conducted a series of controlled purchases of firearms and ammunition from the defendant in May and June at locations in the Macon area, including at Davis’s residence, acquiring 12 firearms.

The firearms sold illegally by the defendant included a .380 caliber handgun with an obliterated serial number and a sawed-off shotgun that Davis hid in a separate location from other firearms he was selling because he stated he was “scared” of that particular sawed-off shotgun as “it will get you Fed time.”

According to court documents and statements made in the Grilliot case, GBI agents took Grilliot into custody on a warrant in a pending narcotics conspiracy investigation on Sept. 1, 2023, at a rest stop off Interstate 475. A search warrant was obtained for the 18-wheeler Grilliot was driving. Inside, agents found a loaded .40 caliber pistol along with a small plastic bag of suspected methamphetamine and a pipe with suspected methamphetamine residue.

Grilliot was previously convicted on one count of possession of an unregistered firearm due to his possession of a rifle that had been sawed off on both the barrel and stock to below the legal length with a homemade silencer taped to the shortened barrel, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia on July 7, 2021, and was serving supervised release at the time of this offense.

These cases are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence and to make neighborhoods safer for everyone.

The Davis case was investigated by ATF. The Grilliot case was investigated by GBI and ATF. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joy Odom is prosecuting the cases for the government.

Special Illustration: Metro Creative