Feds indict man accused of having 88 pounds of methamphetamine in Liberty traffic stop

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A traffic stop in Liberty Township that reportedly uncovered 88 pounds of methamphetamine has led to the federal indictment of an Arizona man.

Jeffrey Battle, 36, was charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. An indictment was filed Thursday in U.S. Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Battle was arrested Aug. 14, after a high-speed chase that started in Liberty and ended at Shields Road and Dorado Beach Drive in Canfield.

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

The chase began after police tailed Battle to a truck stop in Hubbard where they say he parked in a spot reserved for commercial trucks. He was then 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.

Following the chase and ditching his vehicle, Battle was found and arrested in a wood area.

According to an affidavit in the criminal complaint, 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 federal judge has ordered all of Battle’s property and proceeds derived from the alleged drug dealing to be seized and Battle be detained pending further court proceedings.

An arraignment date has not yet been set.

Joe Gorman contributed to this report.

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