Battle Caught With Gun Linked to Des Moines Shooting

Cedar Rapids, IA – A jury delivered a guilty verdict today in the federal case of Delvonn Battle, 31, of Des Moines, Iowa, connecting him to a firearm used in a shooting that occurred just one month prior to his arrest. Battle was convicted of possessing a firearm as a felon following a two-day trial in Cedar Rapids.

The bust went down just before midnight on January 13, 2012, when Waterloo police pulled over a vehicle. Battle was riding shotgun, alongside driver Ryan Marshall and another passenger, all hailing from Des Moines. Police, citing inconsistent statements and suspicious behavior, conducted a search. The search yielded a loaded Ruger 9 millimeter pistol stashed directly under Battle’s seat.

But the gun wasn’t just any firearm. Evidence presented at trial definitively linked the weapon to a shooting at a Des Moines gas station a month earlier. An eyewitness had already identified Battle as the shooter in that incident. The connection turned a simple weapons charge into a case with serious roots in a previous act of violence.

Ryan Marshall, the driver, wasn’t off the hook either. He was previously convicted in state court of transporting a firearm as a felon, but wasn’t charged in this federal case. The Waterloo Police Department’s Violent Crime Apprehension Team (VCAT), working alongside the Des Moines Police Department, built the case that ultimately led to Battle’s conviction.

Battle now awaits sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. A presentence report is being prepared, and he remains in the custody of the United States Marshal. He faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and up to three years of supervised release after serving his time.

Assistant United States Attorney Justin Lightfoot prosecuted the case. Court file information, including case number 13-CR-2005, is available online at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. This case serves as a stark reminder that firearms offenses, especially those linked to prior crimes, will be aggressively prosecuted in the federal system.

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