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Suffolk man sentenced for stockpiling firearms, attempting to obstruct justice

Posted at 9:43 AM, Nov 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-10 09:43:16-05

Richard Allen Patterson (Western Tidewater Regional Jail)

NORFOLK, Va. – A Suffolk man was sentenced Wednesday to more than eight years in prison for being a felon in possession of more than a dozen firearms and attempting to obstruct justice.

According to court documents, 47-year-old Richard Allen Patterson, who was a previously convicted felon, conspired with his wife to stockpile at least 23 rifles, shotguns and handguns, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, in their home.

Once they learned that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was investigating them, they attempted to cover up their crimes by lying to federal authorities, tampering with witnesses including their own teenage daughters, hiding evidence and attempting to fabricate evidence that proved Patterson’s innocence.

One example of their attempted obstruction was that Patterson had his wife change the registered address of their business weeks after ATF executed a search warrant for the property, and then moved to suppress the warrant because ATF included the “wrong” address in it.

Patterson is being held in the Western Tidewater Regional Jail.