Des Moines Felon Delvonn Battle Sentenced to 10 Years for Waterloo Firearm Possession

DELVONN BATTLE, 31, of Des Moines, Iowa, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm during a traffic stop in Waterloo. Battle faced the maximum sentence after being convicted by a jury on May 23, 2013.

The incident occurred on January 13, 2012, when Waterloo Police Department officers stopped a vehicle driven by Ryan Marshall, a friend of Battle’s. Battle was seated as the front passenger. Inside the vehicle, police discovered a loaded 9 millimeter pistol directly under Battle’s seat.

Battle was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. The sentence includes 120 months’ imprisonment and a $100 special assessment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release following his prison term, with no parole available.

The judge enhanced Battle’s sentence based on evidence that he used the same firearm in a shooting at a Des Moines gas station just one month before the traffic stop. Ballistics tests confirmed the weapon was identical to the one used in the shooting, which resulted in one victim being hit in the leg. An eyewitness identified Battle as the shooter.

Battle is currently in the custody of the United States Marshal’s Service pending transfer to a federal prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Lightfoot and investigated by multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Waterloo Police Department Violence Crime Apprehension Team (VCAT), the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and various local police departments.

Court file information for this case is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl, with case file number 13-CR-2005.

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