Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that JOE LYNN BEATTIE (“BEATTIE”), age 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 (3) 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 (5) firearms, ammunition, sixteen (16) silencers, and five (5) machinegun conversion devices that turn firearms into fully automatic weapons.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Maestri of the General Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
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