NEW BERN - The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that today, United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced TRAEJAN JAHAD BARNES, 19, of Raleigh to 33 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release.
BARNES was named in an Indictment filed on June 6, 2018. On Oct. 18, 2018, BARNES pled guilty to one-count of Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Felon.
On April 18, 2018, investigators with the Raleigh Police Department observed an individual in the left rear passenger seat of a vehicle driven by another man and BARNES was observed in the right rear passenger seat of the vehicle. BARNES informed investigators that there was a firearm underneath him. As BARNES moved across the back seat to exit the vehicle, a loaded Ruger LC9 semi-automatic handgun fell onto the floorboard and was recovered by investigators. Further investigation determined that on March 15, 2018, the firearm was reported stolen in Wendell, North Carolina. Moreover, investigators determined that BARNES is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to his prior felony convictions.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Since 2017 the United States Department of Justice has reinvigorated the PSN program and has targeted violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
That effort has been implemented through the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.
The case was investigated by the Raleigh Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney Daniel W. Smith prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
