Department of Justice

RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that in federal court, before United States Magistrate Judge Robert B. Jones, Jr., GARY LYNN GATLIN, of Orrum, North Carolina, was charged in a federal Criminal Complaint for possession of a firearm by a felon.

The affidavit attached to the Criminal Complaint alleges that GATLIN possessed a firearm as a convicted felon on February 8, 2019. On February 8, 2019, two law enforcement officers were conducting surveillance near Water Tower Road and Gatlin Drive in Orrum, North Carolina. It is alleged that GATLIN confronted the officers about why they were near his property and left the scene. Shortly thereafter, GATLIN returned to the area with a shotgun. GATLIN fired one shot into the air and fired multiple shots in the direction of the officers, which struck their vehicle. The officers then left the scene and GATLIN fled the area. Prior to February

8, 2019, GATLIN had been convicted of Common Law Robbery in Robeson County. GATLIN was taken into custody on February 12, 2019.

The charge and allegations contained in the Criminal Complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

This case was brought using the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. 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 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, and Wake County Sheriff’s Office contributed to the investigation of this case.

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