Coatesville Man Convicted Of Possessing An Illegal Weapon

WEST CHESTER, PA —A jury convicted a 39-year-old Coatesville man of illegally possessing a firearm after Chester County detectives conducted a search warrant at his residence on Oct. 30, 2019.

Patrick Britton has a 2010 conviction which makes him ineligible to legally possess a firearm, according to Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan.

"He hid it in a shoebox where the children who resided with him could have easily found it thereby risking their lives," Ryan said.

The verdict followed a trial before Judge Nicole Forzato.

In October 2019, detectives conducted a series of controlled drug buys with the defendant and others known to law enforcement utilizing the assistance of a confidential informant.

On Oct. 30, 2019, a search warrant was executed at the defendant’s residence at the 500 block of Walnut Street in Coatesville. Police found a Smith and Wesson revolver hidden in the shoebox in a closet in his bedroom.

Detectives later learned that Britton was not permitted to legally possess a firearm in Pennsylvania because of a prior conviction in 2010 for drug delivery.