US Attorney

FIVE TIME CONVICTED FELON EXILED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF A GUN

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Marquis Battle, age 25, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Judge Blake enhanced Battle’s sentence upon finding that he is an armed career criminal, based on five previous narcotics convictions.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler; and Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III.

“A five-time convicted felon armed with a gun should not be walking among the good citizens of Baltimore,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Theresa Stoop. “ATF and Baltimore Police work tirelessly to take armed career criminals off our streets and put them behind bars where they belong.”

According to court documents and facts presented during his plea hearing, Battle was a passenger in a car that was stopped by police on May 7, 2010.

As officers followed the car, attempting to conduct a traffic stop, the vehicle did not stop right away and the officers could see the occupants moving around. When the vehicle stopped in the 600 block of Monroe Street, officers approached and saw a jar containing marijuana in the driver’s lap and a zip lock bag containing heroin on the floor of the front passenger side. The driver was arrested and the passenger, later identified as Battle, was asked to get out of the car. As Battle stood up, a loaded 9mm handgun fell from his pant leg and was recovered by police.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF, Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in this investigation and thanked Special Assistant United States Attorney Gerald A. Collins, a cross designated Maryland Assistant Attorney General assigned to Exile cases, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cheryl L. Crumpton, who prosecuted the case.