RALEIGH - Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that today in Federal court, QUINTIN LAMAR MOLETTE, a 28-year-old resident of Fayetteville, was convicted following a two-day trial before Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever III. The jury found MOLETTE guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The evidence at trial showed that MOLETTE was a convicted felon and was subject to probationary and parole supervision by the State of North Carolina as a “high risk" offender.
On March 17, 2015, North Carolina probation and parole officers conducted a warrantless search of MOLETTE’s residence. The search was predicated, in part, on information indicating MOLETTE was in violation of his terms of probation and parole. At the time of the search, a member of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office was also present in order to execute an arrest warrant against MOLETTE.
During the course of the search, officers discovered a loaded firearm in the room MOLETTE had been occupying. Particularly, the evidence showed that officers located the firearm under the bed on the side MOLETTE had been sleeping. Further, the evidence presented indicated MOLETTE had the firearm on his person earlier that day.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, the Fayetteville Police Department, and North Carolina Probation/Parole.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
