Man With Tattoo Of Gun On His Face Arrested For Illegal Weapons Possession

So much for a concealed weapon.

A South Carolina man with a tattoo of a gun on his face has been arrested for illegal weapons possession.

Michael Vines, 24, was arrested by Greenville police over the weekend, and charged with illegal possession of a firearm, driving with a suspended license and driving too fast for prevailing conditions, police said Monday. 

Vines, police said, is federally prohibited from possessing a firearm, but that didn’t stop him from allegedly tossing a fully-loaded Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver into grass after a recent car wreck near an intersection.

Firefighters who responded to the wreck witnessed Vines toss the gun, police said, reported it to officers who recovered it. 

It's unclear why Vines is prohibited from owning a gun. 

Vines’ mugshot shows the tattoo on his forehead of a .45 caliber Glock G37 handgun, equipped with an extended magazine.  

Known as an “extend-o,” the extra-capacity ammunition magazines are favored by the criminal underworld, according to researchers at the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University, who published their study of the subject in the Journal of Urban Health.

While firearms possession is largely protected by the Second Amendment, exceptions exist for certain classes of people, including convicted felons. those with mental illness, non-citizens and people convicted or charged with domestic violence, even if it is a misdemeanor.

Most, if not all, states prohibit felons from possessing firearms, and a federal statute enacted as part of the Brady Bill makes it a federal crime to be a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the Gun Laws By State, a firearms legal information website.

While some states allow the restoration of gun rights to non-violent felons in some circumstances, none allow the restoration of gun rights to violent felony offenders, according to the website.

[Photo: Greenville Police Department]