A Beaumont man has been sentenced to federal prison for violent crime violations in the Eastern District of Texas. Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. announced that Patrick Lee Bridgewater, 22, pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and received a sentence of 63 months in federal prison from U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on May 16, 2025.
Court documents reveal that on April 14, 2023, local law enforcement responded to an armed robbery at the Speedy Stop on College Street in Beaumont. Witnesses reported two men entered the store and demanded money from the clerk at gunpoint. Descriptions of the suspects and their vehicle were broadcasted to law enforcement agencies. The vehicle was soon located traveling eastbound on College Street. A traffic stop was attempted, but the vehicle fled, leading to a high-speed chase that ended in Nederland. Bridgewater was a passenger in the stolen vehicle driven by a minor, and evidence from the robbery was found inside.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative utilizing resources from the Department of Justice to combat illegal immigration and eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators. The operation involves efforts from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The investigation was conducted by FBI’s Beaumont field office and the Beaumont Police Department, with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Grove.
