WASHINGTON, D.C. -(Ammoland.com)- A Virginia military member has been convicted of selling a machine gun and having destructive devices.
Patrick Tate Adamiak was a decorated Navy sailor before the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), acting on the information from a confidential informant (CI), arrested him for transferring a machine gun and having destructive devices. The CI approached Adamiak to see if he could broker a deal for a demilled MG42 kit listed on Gun Broker by a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL).
Mr. Adamiak ran a small business dealing in firearms parts. He worked out the deal with the seller and paid for the demilled MG42 kit with a company check. He then gave the MG42 kit to the CI and collected the money plus a small fee for brokering the deal. Adamiak assumed that since the demilled MG42 kit was sold on Gun Broker, it was legal to own. The MG42 kit had only a single saw cut instead of the three torch cuts as laid out on the ATF’s website.
The ATF then raided the Navy Master at Arm’s home and arrested him for transferring a machine gun. While searching his house, the agents found a demilled RPG that Adamiak purchased from a flea market for $40 while stationed in California. The RPG did not have a trigger group and had a hole cut on the side of the tube.
The ATF sent the RPG to Martinsburg, where they were able to patch the hole and install a trigger group. The ATF examiner took the completed RPG and test-fired a 7.62 round from a training grenade. Since the ATF could convert the demilled RPG into a working device, Adamiak was charged with having a destructive device. The prosecutor claimed that he could have fired an anti-tank round.
The ATF also found M79 receivers. An M79 is a 40mm grenade launcher when paired with a 40mm tube. Without the tube attached, the M79 receiver is just considered a firearm. Adamiak purchased the receivers from Big Daddy Unlimited. Adamiak did buy the tubes, which he kept locked up separate from the receivers. The ATF considered this constructive intent, and he was charged and convicted.
Part of the prosecution’s evidence was that Adamiak had a wet saw. The government claimed that he was using it to cut receivers to be able to transfer them. Wet saws can be purchased at Home Depot and are regularly used to cut tile. Mr. Adamiak’s attorneys pointed out that he was in the middle of remodeling his bathroom and that included cutting tiles.
The prosecution also showed the jury Mr. Adamiak’s Mac receiver flats. According to the ATF, Mac receiver flats are not firearms. They are not regulated under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) or the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA). Prosecutors showed the jury pictures of the flats and told them that every one of those flats could have been turned into a machine gun.
The prosecution called Mr. Adamiak’s Master Chief to the stand. Their goal was to prove that Adamiak had the skills to make Machine Guns. The prosecution harped on the fact that Adamiak was a Navy Master-at-Arms. They claimed that it gave Adamiak the skills needed to make machine guns. A Navy Master-at-Arms is a Navy Cop. It has nothing to do with weapon building.
Despite the absurdity of the government’s case, Mr. Adamiak was found guilty of transferring a machine gun and having destructive devices. His bond was immediately revoked, and he was taken into custody. The revocation of the bond was a surprise. Most believed he was not a flight risk and would be able to remain out on bond until sentencing in March.
Mr. Adamiak is planning on launching an appeal after sentencing and currently raising money for his legal defense through a Give Send Go.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
All the best to Mr. Adamiak as he goes against the, IRS director that Congress did not authorize the formation of the Bureaucrats at the, “atf/aft/nfa/batf/batfe” and all of it various offices that HARASS Legal Law Abiding American Citizens!!!!
Maybe, the next time that the atfe shows up at a house, they should give them their guns, ———– ammo first, ——— airmail. With properly sworn government agents like these guys, who needs terrorists, extortionists, cartel operators, murderers, thieves etc.? Evidently, we must live in russia or china, or north korea, or nigeria, or iran, or saudi arabia, or venezuela? We can’t be in the U.S.A. because they have a legal right to keep and bear arms under their constitution. The Americans already kicked out all the governmental liars, thieves, extortionists and murderers — they sent them back to England.… Read more »
No government agency can afford to come in under budget – to actually save money in intelligent efficient ways – because the only “reward” that agency or program would receive for such efficiency would be a smaller budget to work with for the next budgetary season. Smaller budgets are not good for agencies and programs designed to grow. So it has long since become routine standard practice that government agencies and programs actively look for ways to spend up ALL of their allocated monies before the fiscal year ends, because various political bean counters are always looking for ways to… Read more »
Government thugs love committing armed robbery, aggravated kidnapping, and violation of rights.
Some of the charges would appear to be “absurd” some seem valid — anyone who knows anything about firearms law would have known that having both the M79 receiver and barrel could constitute constructive possession, and that keeping them “separate” doesn’t avoid that. Other reports on this case have reflected that Adamiak held an FFL for his business, further suggesting that he should have known better. Bottom line, there is certainly more to this story than has been reported on either side. Hopefully Adamiak has good legal representation, but we need a lot more information before rooting for either side… Read more »
Sound like he ad a shite legal team to me.