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A Roseboro man was sentenced August 25, 2021 to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina. Ramon Eric Best, 35, pleaded guilty to the charge on March 11, 2020.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Best illegally possessed a firearm as a previously convicted felon.

“On January 7, 2018, Wilson Police Department (WPD) officers responded to a gunshot call and found Best applying pressure to an upper thigh gunshot of a victim who was lying in the road next to Best’s vehicle,” stated the release. “Best initially claimed the victim (Best’s friend) was shot by an unknown individual but later admitted that the wound was accidentally self-inflicted. After admitting the truth to the police, Best ultimately gave the gun used in the shooting to the police.”

Police obtained search warrants and officers found a 9mm handgun, a stolen .40 caliber handgun, approximately two grams of cocaine base (crack), digital scales and a high-capacity drum magazine in Best’s vehicle, according to the release.

G. Norman Acker III, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Wilson Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Stephany prosecuted.

“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,” stated the release. “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina implements the PSN Program through its Take Back North Carolina Initiative. 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.”

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