Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that Joe Lynn Beattie, 53, of Covington, Louisiana, was sentenced on April 29, 2025, by United States District Judge Jay C. Zainey to 63 months’ imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release and payment of a $300 mandatory special assessment fee.
Beattie previously pleaded guilty on January 27, 2025, to a three-count indictment.
Count one charged him with being a Felon in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1).
Count two charged him with possession of silencers that were not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 5841.
Count three charged him with possession of machineguns, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 922(o).
According to court records, federal agents received information that Beattie had received unlawfully imported firearm parts from China.
Thereafter, special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), as well as St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s deputies, executed a search warrant at his residence.
The search yielded five firearms, ammunition, 16 silencers, and five machinegun conversion devices that turn firearms into fully automatic weapons.
