Sampson County Man Receives 60 Months in Prison for Gun Offense

NEW BERN, N.C. – A Roseboro man was sentenced today to 60 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  On March 11, 2020, Ramon Eric Best pled guilty to the charge.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Best, 35, 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.  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. The police obtained search warrants, and officers found a 9mm handgun, a stolen .40 caliber handgun, approximately 2 grams of cocaine base (crack), digital scales, and a high-capacity drum magazine in Best’s vehicle.

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 the case.

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. 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.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:18-CR-00401-FL.