ALBANY, NEW YORK - Rodell Patterson, age 51, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was indicted today on charges that he engaged in the firearms business without a license, sold firearms to a person he knew to be a convicted felon, and unlawfully sold firearms to a resident of another state.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), made the announcement.
Patterson sent a package containing multiple handguns from Baton Rouge to the Capital Region in May 2022. Two of those firearms were recovered the following month in an apartment in Troy, New York. The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The charges filed against Patterson carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart previously ordered Patterson detained pending trial before Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes.
ATF’s Albany Field Office is investigating the case with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, ATF’s Baton Rouge Field Office, and the Rensselaer County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Reiner is prosecuting the case.