Armed Career Criminal Sentenced to 21 Years in Federal Prison for Drug Conspiracy and Firearm Possession

TULSA, Okla. – A career criminal living in Sapulpa was sentenced today for Drug Conspiracy and being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

U.S. District Judge Gustavo A. Gelpi, Jr., sentenced Richard Joseph Schweiger, 50, to 262 months imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release.

In October 2023, Schweiger messaged an undercover deputy about selling a firearm. The deputy knew Schweiger was a felon and agreed to meet up and buy the firearm. When deputies arrested Schweiger, he pulled the firearm from his waistband and threw it next to him.

Deputies searched Schweiger’s social media and discovered roughly 50,000 pages of messages documenting over two years of methamphetamine and drug distribution. In his plea agreement, Schweiger admitted to conspiring with others to distribute methamphetamine in Creek County.

Records show that Schweiger was previously convicted of 17 felonies in Louisiana and Oklahoma over the past 25 years. He will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Creek County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mike Flesher, Nathan Michel, and Christopher Nassar prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.