Traffic stop leads to suspect in assault

A Thursday traffic stop on Cusseta Road has led to the arrest of a man wanted on multiple assault and gun possession charges, Columbus police said.

Maurice M. Grier, 21, faces charges of aggravated assault, two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, burglary, criminal damage to property and other charges. He was ordered held without bond in the Muscogee County Jail after an 8 a.m. Saturday hearing in Recorder’s Court.

In a report, police said Grier was a passenger in a vehicle when it was stopped at the corner of 15th Avenue and Cusseta Road at midnight. Grier was later identified although he first gave police a false name and birth date.

After getting permission from the driver to search the vehicle for drugs and weapons, an officer found a 9mm semi-automatic pistol underneath the passenger seat.

A search of the serial number on the weapon revealed that it was stolen from a burglary that occurred in the 3000 block of Sixth Avenue.

A further investigation revealed that Grier is accused of using a 9 mm pistol while shooting at and wounding two men at Gleason Avenue and Torch Hill Road on March 19, 2011. On of the men was shot in the left forearm as he was trying to leave Eagle Trace Apartments on Torch Hill Road.

Police said Grier was charged and convicted of burglary in Muscogee Superior Court in September 2010.

This story was originally published July 6, 2013 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Traffic stop leads to suspect in assault."