PITTSBURGH, Pa – A former Ohio resident has been sentenced in federal court to 87 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release on his conviction of Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery, Hobbs Act Robbery, Conspiracy to Steal Firearms from a Licensed Firearm Dealer, Theft from a Licensed Firearms Dealer, Possession of Stolen Firearms, and Interstate Transport of Stolen Firearms, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Reginald Patterson, age 24, formerly of Cleveland, Ohio.
According to information presented to the court, in December of 2017, Reginald Patterson, his brother, Rayshawn Patterson, and other conspirators from the Cleveland, Ohio, area conspired to travel to rural areas of Western Pennsylvania to burglarize Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) and transport the stolen firearms back to Cleveland, Ohio. On December 22, 2017, Reginald and Rayshawn Patterson traveled to Clarion County, Pennsylvania to attempt to locate and burglarize a gun store. However, the brothers and their co-conspirators were unsuccessful in doing so. Prior to returning to Cleveland, Reginald and Rayshawn Patterson and their co-conspirators observed a gas station with only one employee working late at night. The individuals then devised a plan to rob that gas station. The brothers participated in a robbery of the gas station in which the employee was threatened with violence, physically restrained, and brought to another area of the store. The conspirators netted approximately $300 dollars from the robbery before returning to Cleveland.
The next day on December 23, 2017, Reginald Patterson and co-conspirators returned to Western Pennsylvania and burglarized DSD Sports in Brookville, PA by smashing the front door and windows with a sledgehammer and other tools. Once inside the store, Reginald Patterson and co-conspirators stole approximately 16 firearms including 14 handguns and two assault rifles. The co-conspirators then transported the firearms back to Cleveland, Ohio. On December 29, 2017, Cleveland Police recovered two of the stolen handguns from DSD outside the home of the Patterson brothers. On January 10, 2017, agents from the Pittsburgh and Cleveland division of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed search warrants in Cleveland, Ohio, at residences connected to Reginald and Rayshawn Patterson and their co-conspirators. Agents recovered the suspected sledgehammer and other tools used in the burglary.
Assistant United States Attorneys Brendan T. Conway and Douglas Maloney prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Brookville Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Cleveland Police Department, and the Cuyahoga Sheriff’s Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Reginald Patterson.