TACOMA MAN SENTENCED TO 12 ½ YEARS AS "CAREER OFFENDER"
MARCUS DESHON PATTON, 42, of Tacoma, Washington, was sentenced on Friday, July 22nd as a "Career Offender" to 151 months (12 ½ years) in federal prison for Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. PATTON pleaded guilty to the charges in March 2005. In sentencing him today, U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton commented that the "court's primary responsibility is to protect the community from (PATTON's) lifetime of crime" and noted that PATTON's "offenses (are) many and serious."
The charges arise out of two separate incidents. PATTON was arrested after an undercover officer conducted a narcotics purchase from PATTON in the parking lot of the 72nd Street Bar and Grill in Tacoma. When officers moved in to arrest PATTON, he dropped his baggie of crack cocaine and attempted to flee. After a foot pursuit in which PATTON climbed over a fence, PATTON was arrested and the crack cocaine, as well as a large wad of cash containing $560.00, was recovered.
On a separate date, the Pierce County Violent Crime Task Force conducted surveillance on the defendant's vehicle because the defendant had an outstanding warrant. Officers observed the defendant enter his vehicle and drive. When the defendant observed officers following him, he stopped his vehicle and fled on foot. Officers observed the defendant holding an item close to his chest as he fled from the vehicle. Officers eventually located the defendant hiding inside a nearby house. A search of the defendant's vehicle resulted in the discovery of an Intratec AB-10 semi-automatic pistol.
PATTON's previous convictions include Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the Second Degree; Conspiracy to Possess Cocaine With Intent to Deliver; Bail Jumping; and Robbery in the First Degree. These convictions qualified PATTON for prosecution as a Career Offender and subjected PATTON to an enhanced term of imprisonment.
PATTON was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program. Unveiled by President George W. Bush in May 2001, Project Safe Neighborhoods, a comprehensive and strategic approach to gun law enforcement, is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in America by networking both new and existing local programs that target gun crime and then providing them with the resources and tools they need to succeed. Implementation at the local level -- in this case, in Pierce County -- has fostered close partnerships between federal, state and local prosecutors and law enforcement.
The case was investigated by the Pierce County Violent Crime Task Force and the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Kent Y. Liu. For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Washington, at (206)553-4110.
