Lafayette Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing a Semi-Automatic Pistol

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that Patrick Comeaux, 30, of Lafayette, Louisiana, pled guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carol B. Whitehurst, to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

On December 7, 2018, Lafayette Police Department officers were dispatched to a vehicle burglary in progress. Officers located the burglary suspect, Comeaux, in a separate vehicle at a Lafayette apartment complex. When Comeaux attempted to flee the complex in the vehicle, he crashed into an officer’s unit. Comeaux then fled on foot and was apprehended and arrested for multiple violations. During the encounter, officers saw an SCCY, Model CPX-2, 9mm semi-automatic pistol on the center console of the vehicle Comeaux was driving.

It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess firearms or ammunition. Comeaux has prior felony convictions in the 15th Judicial District Court, Lafayette Parish, for domestic battery and theft (May 2017), possession of methamphetamine (May 2017), and aggregated theft (November 2018).

Comeaux faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine, as well as forfeiture of the firearm and ammunition related to this offense. The court set the sentencing date for September 22, 2020.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Lafayette Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative. PSN is a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN plays a major role in the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.