Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
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.