A Muldrow, Oklahoma resident has been sentenced to prison for federal firearm offenses. Joseph Charles Riddle, 35, received an eighteen-month sentence for each of two counts: Felon in Possession of Ammunition and Felon in Possession of Firearm and Ammunition. The sentences will run concurrently.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives worked with the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office on the investigation. On May 5, 2025, Riddle pleaded guilty to both charges.
Investigators found that between January 17, 2024, and August 2024, Riddle possessed multiple firearms—including a pump action rifle, a pump action shotgun, a bolt action rifle—and fifteen rounds of ammunition despite having prior felony convictions. Additionally, on January 6, 2025, he was found with twenty rounds of ammunition while still prohibited from possessing such items due to his criminal record.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America. According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma: “Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).”
The sentencing hearing was overseen by U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III in Muskogee federal court. Riddle will remain in custody pending transfer to a Bureau of Prisons facility where he will serve his non-paroleable sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lewis M. Reagan and Jonathan E. Soverly prosecuted the case.
