U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans has announced that Joe Lynn Beattie, a 52-year-old resident of Covington, Louisiana, pled guilty to a three-count indictment on January 27, 2025. The charges against Beattie include being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, possessing unregistered silencers, and possessing machineguns.

Court records reveal that federal agents discovered Beattie had unlawfully received firearm parts imported from China. Following this discovery, Special Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with officers from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at his residence. The search resulted in the seizure of five firearms, ammunition, sixteen silencers, and five machinegun conversion devices.

Beattie faces significant legal consequences if convicted. For Count One, he could be sentenced to a maximum of fifteen years imprisonment; for Counts Two and Three, he could face up to ten years each. Additionally, he may receive up to three years of supervised release following imprisonment and must pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count. He also faces potential fines up to $250,000 for Counts One and Three and up to $10,000 for Count Two.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities. The Department launched a strengthened violent crime reduction strategy on May 26, 2021.

U.S. Attorney Evans commended the efforts of Homeland Security Investigations, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in their investigation of this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Maestri is leading the prosecution.