Hardwick, Caledonia County, Vermont: Hardwick Man Patten Sentenced to 21 Months on October 29 for Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm; Gun and Drugs Found While on Release
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Vermont announced on October 29 that Hunter Patten, 27, of Hardwick in Caledonia County, Vermont, was sentenced that day by U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III to 21 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Patten pleaded guilty on November 3, 2025, to possessing a firearm as a drug user and a person addicted to controlled substances. According to court records, on October 15, 2023, after Patten heard that Theodore Bland had committed a double homicide for drugs in Lowell, Vermont, Patten obtained a firearm in exchange for cocaine base. After pleading guilty, Patten was released on January 27, 2026, to await sentencing, under conditions including not possessing firearms or drugs and not violating state or federal law. On August 18, 2026, Hardwick police responded to Patten's residence and found him with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to his leg, a short-barreled shotgun hidden in a nearby clothes dryer, and thousands of dollars' worth of cocaine base and fentanyl in his kitchen and bedroom; he was immediately detained for violating his release conditions. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Hardwick Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dana Hill and Jason Turner.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 资料图：美国司法部总部大楼，来源为GSM固定图库federal-core包
