RICHMOND, VA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled that a Virginia man convicted of multiple federal firearms offenses must have one of his convictions vacated due to a violation of the Fifth Amendment’s Double Jeopardy Clause, but upheld the remainder of his conviction and sentence.
Patrick Tate Adamiak was convicted by a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on five counts, including possession and transfer of a machinegun, receipt and possession of unregistered firearms, and unregistered destructive devices. He was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
In an unpublished opinion issued October 14, 2025, the Fourth Circuit held that Adamiak’s convictions on both Count One (possessing an unregistered firearm under 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d)) and Count Two (possessing or transferring a machinegun under 18 U.S.C. § 922(o)) constituted punishment for the same offense based on identical facts, violating the Blockburger test for double jeopardy.
The court remanded the case with instructions for the district court to vacate either Count One or Count Two and resentence Adamiak accordingly.
Adamiak had raised several additional challenges on appeal, including arguments that the indictment was legally insufficient, the evidence did not support the jury’s verdict, the court’s jury instructions were improper, and that the statutes under which he was convicted were unconstitutional under the Second Amendment and void for vagueness. The appellate panel rejected all remaining claims.
The court found the indictment properly stated the elements of each offense and gave Adamiak adequate notice. The evidence, which included testimony from federal agents, firearms experts, and other witnesses, was deemed sufficient to support each conviction. The court also upheld the jury’s role in determining whether the weapons qualified as machineguns or destructive devices, and affirmed the lower court’s sentencing.
Adamiak’s constitutional claims were rejected in light of recent Fourth Circuit precedent, including Bianchi v. Brown and United States v. Hunt, which upheld similar federal firearms restrictions.
The case now returns to the district court for partial vacatur and resentencing.
