Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division, announced that ALEXANDER PATTERSON, 34, of Bristol, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to unlawful possession of firearms by a felon.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 9, 2021, law enforcement conducted a court-authorized search of Tyrone Brown’s residence on Stevens Street in New Haven and seized a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Brown, who was a convicted felon and was prohibited by federal law from purchasing or possessing a firearm or ammunition, was arrested at that time. The investigation revealed that the firearm was registered to a family member of Leah Boucher, of Bristol, and that Boucher had purchased 10 other firearms at four different gun stores in Connecticut between March and July 2021. When investigators interviewed Boucher on August 26, 2021, Boucher admitted that she had purchased firearms for other individuals, and that she was no longer in possession of any of the 10 firearms that were registered to her. A search of Boucher’s iPhone revealed photos, taken in July 2021, of Patterson and Brown. In some of the photos, Patterson is seen handling the handgun that was recovered from Brown’s residence on August 9, 2021, and another handgun that investigators determined was registered to Boucher’s family member.
Patterson’s criminal history includes felony convictions in Connecticut and Georgia for firearm, burglary, home invasion and assault offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
At sentencing, which is not scheduled, Patterson faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
Patterson has been detained since his arrest on January 12, 2022.
Brown and Boucher pleaded guilty to related charges and also detained while awaiting sentencing.
This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the New Haven Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Gresham.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.