-Press Release, U.S. Department of Justice

RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced today, Senior United States District Judge W. Earl Britt sentenced BAKARI MAURICE TEACHEY aka “Double R”, 27 a Rocky Mount resident, to 210 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release. On February 9, 2018, TEACHEY was convicted in a three-day jury trial of 3-counts of Possession of a Firearm and/or Ammunition by a Convicted Felon.

The evidence at trial showed that TEACHEY pistol-whipped a man on May 9, 2017, and the victim received medical treatment. Two days later, TEACHEY was found in possession of a stolen Ruger 9mm pistol during a traffic stop by the Rocky Mount Police Department. On August 4, 2017, Rocky Mount Police Officers executed a search warrant on the home that TEACHEY shared with his fiancée after a reported shooting on South Vyne Street in Rocky Mount. The officers located numerous firearms and ammunition including a Smith and Wesson M&P AR 15 rifle, a Century Arms 7.62×39 AK 47 rifle, a Glock 9mm pistol with an extended magazine, a .357 Taurus revolver, and assorted ammunition including ammunition for the caliber of firearms recovered and other ammunition. The officers also located drug paraphernalia, marijuana, and counterfeit U.S. currency.

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. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting 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.

In support of PSN, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina has implemented the 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.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Rocky Mount Police Department, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette represented the government in this case.

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