BY DAN HILDEBRAN
A man who sold a stolen T.V. to a pawn shop for $50 and a stolen guitar to the same store for $25 was sentenced to 22 months in prison after violating probation.
Mark Calvin Griffis, Jr., 35, of Raiford, pleaded to dealing in stolen property and providing false information to a pawn shop in March 2024.
A judge sentenced the defendant to 36 months’ probation and withheld adjudication for the offenses.
However, according to violation reports, probation officers caught Griffis attempting to submit a fraudulent urine sample during a drug test.
A probation officer reported that instead of urinating into a cup, the 35-year-old poured urine from a container he had hidden under his shirt into the sample cup. Griffis then told officers he used the “detoxed” urine because he had been smoking marijuana. The defendant added that the marijuana was for pain caused by stomach cancer.
Probation officers also cited Griffis for failure to pay costs and restitution and failing to complete a drug treatment program.
The defendant’s prior record included burglary, dealing in stolen property, grand theft, driving with a suspended or revoked license, and pawnbroker fraud.
