Man faces federal charges in seizure of 88 pounds of meth

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A traffic stop in Liberty Township last week that uncovered 88 pounds of methamphetamine has led to the filing of a federal criminal complaint.

The complaint charges Jeffrey Battle, 36, of Phoenix, Ariz., with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He is expected to be arraigned Aug. 27 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carmen E. Henderson in the U.S. Northern District Court of Ohio.

Battle was arrested about 12 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14, after a high-speed chase that started in Liberty and ended at Shields Road and Dorado Beach Drive in Canfield. He has been in the Mahoning County jail since his arrest.

An affidavit accompanying the criminal complaint said a source told investigators that Battle “distributes significant quantities of narcotics in the Mahoning County area” and he often travels here from Arizona, staying two to three weeks at a time.

The affidavit said the FBI and the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force started an investigation in April into Battle, and he was under surveillance Wednesday before investigators tried to pull over a car he was driving in Liberty.

The affidavit said the source told investigators that Battle often uses commercial trucks to smuggle cocaine and that he sells drugs in Akron, Youngstown and Erie, Pa.

Battle was spotted Wednesday at a clothing store in Boardman, a Walmart, and then at a home in Austintown before authorities tailed him to a truck stop in Hubbard, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit said Battle drove to the spot reserved for commercial trucks and parked next to a truck. He was spotted walking back to his vehicle carrying a large duffel bag, the affidavit said. After he left the truck stop, he was spotted making a traffic violation and investigators tried to pull him over, but he would not stop, instead driving from Liberty to Canfield, where his truck was found unoccupied.

As officers from several departments who became involved in the chase searched for Battle, agents searched his vehicle and found the methamphetamine in two large duffel bags, including a bag that was similar to a bag Battle was seen carrying earlier in the day, according to the affidavit.

When Battle was found in a wooded area, he was shirtless, and police found the key to the vehicle he was driving in his pockets, the affidavit said.

Battle was arraigned Friday in Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield on a charge of possession of a dangerous drug, a first-degree felony. His bond was set at $200,000 by Judge Molly Johnson. He is expected to have a preliminary hearing Friday.

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