Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)
BEAUMONT, Texas – A Beaumont man has been sentenced to federal prison for violent crime violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.
Patrick Lee Bridgewater, 22, pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on May 16, 2025.
According to court documents, on April 14, 2023, local law enforcement officers responded to a report of an armed robbery in progress at the Speedy Stop on College Street in Beaumont. Witnesses reported two men entered the store and demanded money from the clerk at gunpoint. A description of the men and the vehicle they fled in was broadcast to law enforcement. The vehicle was quickly located traveling eastbound on College Street. A traffic stop was initiated, but the vehicle evaded police resulting in a high-speed chase eventually ending in Nederland. Bridgewater was a passenger in the vehicle, which had been reported stolen and was being driven by a minor. Evidence from the robbery was found in the vehicle.
This case was sentenced as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This case was investigated by FBI’s Beaumont field office and the Beaumont Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Grove.
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