SYRACUSE -- A former U.S. Army solider previously stationed at Fort Drum was sentenced today (Tuesday, Sept. 29) in federal court for burglarizing two St. Lawrence County gun shops in 2019.

Rian Patterson, 23, was sentenced to serve 30 months in federal prison for the burglaries, announced Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

As part of his previous guilty plea, Patterson admitted to stealing five long guns during the burglary of a licensed federal firearms dealer in Gouverneur on Sept. 14, 2019, and to the burglary of a second licensed federal firearms dealer in De Kalb Junction on Sept. 29, 2019, during which five handguns were stolen.

All stolen firearms were recovered during the investigation of these crimes. Patterson also admitted to knowingly possessing stolen firearms taken during those burglaries in his barracks at Fort Drum, including one firearm with an obliterated serial number.

In addition to his term of imprisonment, the court also sentenced Patterson to three years of post-imprisonment supervised release and ordered him to pay a restitution to the victims.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the U.S Army Criminal Investigation Division (ARMY CID), the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department, and the New York State Police, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Sutcliffe.