SAVANNAH -- A gang member with an extensive criminal history has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for illegal firearms possession.

Bryan Howard Bignault, aka “Bebo,” 29, of Bloomingdale, was sentenced to 120 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by an Armed Career Criminal, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. After completion of his prison term, Bignault will be required to serve five years of supervised release.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Bryan Bignault gave the same old song and dance when caught carrying a gun: he claimed he needed it for ‘protection’,” said Christine. “The simple fact is that the community needs to be protected from career criminals like him – which is why in federal court, gun crime earns hard prison time.”

As described in court documents and testimony, Bignault was arrested during a traffic stop Jan. 21  by Pooler Police officers when they discovered he had an outstanding warrant for probation violation. During a search of Bignault’s pickup, officers found a loaded pistol. Bignault, who has at least three prior felony convictions, is a member of the Ghost Face Gangsters, a violent, white supremacist street gang active in Georgia’s prison system.

“This case demonstrates ATF’s priority of removing illegally possessed firearms from the hands of career criminals,” said Beau Kolodka, assistant special agent in charge of the Atlanta Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “It also demonstrates the cooperation that exists between the Pooler Police Department and ATF.” 

The case was investigated by the Pooler Police Department and the ATF, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kirkland.