MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Leon Patterson, 49, Beloit, Wis., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb to 51 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm after previously being convicted of a felony. Patterson pleaded guilty to this charge on July 28, 2015.

On January 8, 2015, Patterson sold a .40 caliber handgun and ammunition to an undercover federal agent. Patterson has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1984 and consisting of several violent felony convictions. Judge Crabb noted Patterson’s history of assaultive behavior, including toward women and children, as well as his heroin use and alcohol abuse, as factors she considered in choosing a sentence.

The charge against Patterson was the result of an investigation conducted by G-ROC, a task force formed through the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Violent Crime Initiative, to address gang and drug-related violence in Rock County through the coordination of investigations among local and federal law enforcement agencies. Its members include the FBI; Rock County Sheriff’s Office; Rock County District Attorney’s Office; Beloit Police Department; and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

In the past 18 months, more than 20 people have been charged and convicted of a federal drug or gun crime as the result of G-Roc investigations. The prosecution of this case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Przybylinski Finn.