Clifton Eugene Battle, 35, of Raleigh, is headed to federal prison for four years after a routine roadside bathroom break exposed a loaded revolver in plain view on his passenger seat. Battle was sentenced to 48 months’ imprisonment by Chief U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on February 20, 2019.
The arrest unfolded on June 26, 2018, when a Wake County Sheriff’s deputy spotted Battle’s vehicle stalled in a travel lane on Poole Road. Arriving on scene, the officer found Battle standing beside his open driver’s door, glassy-eyed, reeking of alcohol, hovering over a fresh puddle. He claimed he’d pulled over to urinate. A walk-around check revealed a Taurus .38 Special revolver sitting on the front passenger seat. A search of the trunk turned up a box of ammunition.
Battle is no stranger to gun crimes. In 2008, he was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm after using a revolver to shoot a man. He was still on supervised release for that violent offense when he was caught with the gun during this incident—proof, prosecutors say, of a dangerous disregard for the law.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jake D. Pugh under the umbrella of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Justice Department’s nationwide crackdown on violent offenders. Since 2017, PSN has funneled resources into targeting repeat felons and illegal gun possession with a strategy rooted in federal-state-local collaboration.
In North Carolina, that federal push is amplified through the Take Back North Carolina Initiative, designed to embed federal prosecutors in high-crime regions to dismantle violent networks, stem drug trafficking, and strengthen trust between law enforcement and the communities they patrol. Battle’s case exemplifies the initiative’s focus: swift, certain consequences for armed felons.
The investigation was led by the Wake County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). Authorities stress that no amount of public convenience—like a midnight urination stop—justifies illegal gun possession, especially by someone with Battle’s violent history. The message is clear: break the law with a firearm, and federal time will follow.
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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