Jobie Patterson, a 53-year-old resident of Syracuse, has pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to traffic firearms and possession of child pornography. This was announced by United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the FBI.
In his guilty plea, Patterson admitted to conspiring to illegally transfer firearms between December 2022 and January 2023. According to his admission, a coconspirator used a straw purchaser in Georgia to acquire firearms before sending photographs and videos of these firearms to Patterson in Syracuse. Patterson then sold the firearms to a customer in Syracuse who he knew was a convicted felon. Patterson specified that he sold four handguns to this individual.
Additionally, Patterson admitted to possessing child pornography. In May 2023, he knowingly had sexually explicit images and videos of a 16-year-old female. Patterson directed the child to provide these images and stored them in his cloud account.
Patterson is scheduled for sentencing on August 13, 2025. For firearms trafficking charges, he could face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, along with a possible forfeiture of the firearms involved. For the child pornography offense, the potential sentence is up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. He also faces a supervised release term of 5 years to life, may be ordered to pay restitution to the victim, and must register as a sex offender upon release.
The case is under investigation by the FBI, with help from the New York State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. McCrobie is handling the prosecution as part of the Project Safe Childhood and Project Safe Neighborhoods initiatives.
Project Safe Childhood aims to tackle child sexual exploitation by leveraging resources at various government levels to prosecute offenders and rescue victims. Project Safe Neighborhoods focuses on reducing violent crime through community-based strategies and is a primary component of the Department of Justice's crime reduction efforts.
