COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Delaware County man arrested last month near John Glenn Columbus International Airport is now facing a federal firearms charge.
William T. Griffith III, 40, of Delaware, Ohio, has been charged in a federal criminal complaint with illegally possessing ammunition as a convicted felon.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers responded around 4 a.m. on Jan. 9 to a 911 call reporting a man trespassing in a construction area at the airport. Officers located Griffith and discovered four firearms nearby, including an AK-style rifle, a shortened shotgun and two handguns, along with multiple rounds of ammunition.
Authorities said Griffith was wearing military-style fatigue pants at the time of his arrest. Investigators also recovered body armor equipped with ceramic plates and a ballistic helmet fitted with night vision equipment in the area.
Records show Griffith was convicted of kidnapping in 2011, a felony offense that prohibits him from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.
Griffith appeared in federal court in Columbus, where the complaint was unsealed. The charge was announced by Dominick S. Gerace II, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Jason Cromartie, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cincinnati Division, along with members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Damoun Delaviz is representing the government.
A criminal complaint contains allegations, and Griffith is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
