United States of America v. Patrick Bishop

Madison, Wisconsin criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with Heroin Trafficking and Illegally Possessing a Firearm

Madison Man Sentenced to Over 5 Years for Heroin Trafficking and Illegally Possessing a Firearm

Timothy M. O'Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Patrick Bishop, 30, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 63 months in federal prison for possessing 100 grams or more of heroin intended for distribution and possessing a firearm as a felon. Bishop pleaded guilty to these charges on February 10, 2025.



On July 31, 2024, while fleeing from police, Bishop broke into an occupied apartment and climbed onto the roof of the apartment complex. He remained on that roof for over an hour in a standoff with law enforcement until he ultimately agreed to come down.



Bishop was observed carrying and rummaging through a bag. Law enforcement searched the bag and found two large baggies with approximately 169.4 grams of heroin, $28,000 in currency, a baggie with 18 bindles of heroin, and 5 bindles of cocaine. The bag also contained a loaded Glock 23 .40 caliber handgun with a 22-round extended magazine and a machinegun conversion device.



About an inch-long, a machine gun conversion device is an illegal after-market device that converts a semi-automatic firearm into a fully functioning machinegun. A firearm equipped with a machinegun conversion device is extremely dangerous, even for experienced firearms users, because it is difficult to control and is capable of firing 50 rounds in four seconds with a single pull of the trigger.



Bishop is prohibited from legally possessing firearms or ammunition due a prior felony conviction.



At sentencing, Judge Conley remarked on the seriousness of the offense and on the dangerousness of selling drugs with an automatic weapon.



The charges against Bishop were the result of an investigation conducted by the Madison Police Department and the ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force consists of federal agents from ATF and Task Force Officers (TFOs) from state and local agencies throughout the Western District of Wisconsin. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Lennon prosecuted this case.



This case has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department's program to reduce violent crime. The PSN approach emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition and violent and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.