Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Kristen M. Patterson, 40, of Omaha, Nebraska, was found guilty today, following a two-day jury trial in federal court for being a felon in possession of a firearm. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher scheduled Patterson’s sentencing for May 3, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. Patterson faces up to ten years in prison on the firearm charge. There is no parole in the federal system.

On April 7, 2021, at around 2 a.m., Omaha Police officers saw a black GMC Sierra with an attached trailer at the Extra Space Storage facility. The GMC was not running and the lights were off. Officers completed a records check on the trailer and learned it had been reported stolen on February 27, 2021.

The driver did not respond to the commands on the PA system. Upon approach, Patterson, the driver, was taken into custody without incident. The trailer and GMC were towed and an inventory search conducted. During the inventory, officers located a Bersa Thunder 380 CC firearm in a storage pocket on the driver side center console.

Patterson was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of prior felony convictions for: unlawful possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, theft by receiving stolen property, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of a firearm or money during a drug trafficking offense.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Omaha Police Department.