What Happened: Patrick Gordon Case, Salem MA, Docket 2677CR00083

Published October 9, 2026. Sources are linked beside each statement; exhibit images open at full size.

In brief. The Commonwealth’s probable-cause-for-arrest statement reports that a trooper saw gun magazines in Mr. Gordon’s bag. The store’s sales journal records four boxes of pistol primers. The Attorney General’s own photograph of the items later seized shows boxes of that brand. Mr. Gordon is not charged with any magazine offense. What this means for the case has not been decided by any court.

1. The surveillance on December 18, 2025

According to page 4 of the Commonwealth’s probable-cause-for-arrest statement, State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office set up surveillance that Thursday in anticipation of Mr. Gordon traveling to Bedford New Hampshire to retrieve large capacity magazines and transport them across state lines into Massachusetts [Exhibit 1].

The same page says that at about 3:30 PM investigators watched Mr. Gordon drive from Salem to Stateline Guns Ammo & Archery at 153 Plaistow Road in Plaistow, New Hampshire, and that a trooper working undercover went into the store while he was inside. The statement does not describe a trip to Bedford [Exhibit 1].

2. What the Commonwealth’s statement says about the bag

The statement then describes what the trooper reported:

“Trooper [name omitted] observed PATRICK GORDON walking away from the counter of the store with a plastic bag. Trooper [name omitted], who is familiar with firearms to include firearm parts/accessories and magazines stated that he observed the contents of the bag to be gun magazines which are utilized to hold ammunition and feed it into a firearm’s chamber.”

Probable-cause-for-arrest statement, page 4, paragraph 2 [Exhibit 1]

Photograph of page 4 of the probable-cause-for-arrest statement. It describes surveillance on December 18, 2025 and says a trooper stated that he observed the contents of a plastic bag to be gun magazines. — **Probable-cause-for-arrest statement, page 4.** Court record: the Commonwealth’s statement of probable cause for arrest, photographed. Underlining added by the photographer. The trooper’s name, a residential address and a license plate are redacted by this site.

Two points about this document. It is the statement filed to support the arrest, not the affidavit that was submitted to obtain the search warrants. And it reports what the trooper stated to the statement’s author; it is not the trooper’s own account.

3. What the store’s sales record shows

In January 2026, Invention Incarnate, the YouTube creator who maintains this site, went to Stateline Guns, Ammo & Archery and asked about that day’s sales. He reports that the owner printed the store’s Sales/Return Journal for December 18, 2025, highlighted one entry as Mr. Gordon’s purchase, and said the store sold no magazines that day. The printout is dated January 15, 2026 [Exhibit 2].

The highlighted entry, as printed in the journal
Invoice	101943
Date and time	12/18/2025, 4:39 PM
Quantity	4
UPC	029465056223
Item	Federal 100 Champion Small Pistol Multi Caliber Handgun 100 Per Box
Total	$52.00 (tax $0.00)

Photograph of a printed Sales/Return Journal page listing invoices 101941 through 101944 on December 18, 2025. Invoice 101943 at 4:39 PM is highlighted: quantity 4, Federal 100 Champion Small Pistol primers, total 52 dollars. — **Stateline Guns, Ammo & Archery Sales/Return Journal, December 18, 2025, page 5 of 6.** Store business record, printed January 15, 2026 and provided by the store. Highlighting by the store owner. Employee and other customers’ names are redacted.

Close view of invoice 101943, dated 12/18/2025 4:39 PM: quantity 4, UPC 029465056223, Federal 100 Champion Small Pistol Multi Caliber Handgun 100 Per Box, subtotal 52.00, tax 0.00, total 52.00. — **Invoice 101943, detail.** Detail of Exhibit 2.

The item is a box of 100 small pistol primers. A primer is the small metal cap in the base of a cartridge that ignites the powder when struck; primers are sold loose for reloading ammunition. A magazine is a container that holds cartridges and feeds them into a firearm. The two are not similar in size, shape or packaging.

Small pistol primers are also listed as a required component, not included, of the INV-83 reloadable smoke device kit designed by Invention Incarnate [Exhibit 6]. See the INV-83 page.

The journal page shows no magazine sale among the invoices printed on it, which run from 4:19 PM to after 4:46 PM. The adjoining entries are a frame at 4:19 PM, a $200.00 handgun deposit at 4:32 PM (a different transaction) and a transfer at 4:46 PM [Exhibit 2].

One limit of this record should be stated plainly: the journal entry does not carry a customer name. That invoice 101943 is Mr. Gordon’s purchase rests on the store owner’s identification, as reported by Invention Incarnate, and on the time of the sale.

4. What the Attorney General’s photograph shows

The search warrants were executed and Mr. Gordon was arrested on Monday, December 22, 2025. With its press release announcing his arraignment, the Attorney General’s Office published a photograph of seized items laid out on a table. At the left edge of that photograph are two stacks of blue boxes bearing the Federal brand name, the brand named in the sales journal [Exhibit 3].

Photograph of a wooden table covered with containers, bags of powdered chemicals, a spool of wire and, at the left edge, blue boxes labeled Federal. — **Photograph of seized items published by the Attorney General’s Office.** Published on mass.gov with the Attorney General’s press release announcing the arraignment (December 2025). Reproduced here from a screen capture.

Close view of the table: two stacks of blue boxes labeled Federal, next to a spool of wire and small bags of hardware. — **Attorney General’s photograph, detail.** Detail of Exhibit 3. The mouse pointer is from the screen capture.

The photograph is the Commonwealth’s. It does not show when the boxes were acquired, and no magazines are identifiable in it.

5. The store’s bag

The statement says the trooper saw the contents of a plastic bag. Invention Incarnate returned to the store and photographed one of its bags, a white plastic bag printed with “THANK YOU,” holding boxes of Federal primers. In that photograph the contents show through the plastic as a rectangular box [Exhibit 4].

A white plastic shopping bag printed with THANK YOU in red, held up inside the store. A rectangular box can be made out through the plastic at the bottom of the bag. — **A Stateline store bag holding boxes of Federal primers.** Photograph taken at the store in January 2026 by Invention Incarnate. It is a demonstration, not a photograph of the bag carried on December 18, 2025.

This is a demonstration made weeks later, not a record of the bag carried on December 18. Mr. Gordon’s supporters offer it to show that what would have been visible through such a bag is the outline of boxes.

6. The accounts side by side

Source	What it says about December 18, 2025
Commonwealth’s probable-cause-for-arrest statement, p. 4	A trooper stated that he observed the contents of the bag to be gun magazines.
Stateline Sales/Return Journal, invoice 101943	Four boxes of Federal small pistol primers, $52.00, at 4:39 PM.
Store owner, as reported by Invention Incarnate	No magazines were sold that day; invoice 101943 was Mr. Gordon’s purchase.
Attorney General’s photograph of seized items	Shows Federal-brand boxes among the items seized on December 22, 2025.

7. What is not known, and what this does not establish

The search-warrant affidavits are impounded until December 22, 2026. Three warrants were granted in Essex County Superior Court on December 22, 2025. Whether the gun magazines statement appears in the affidavits supporting them, and in what words, is not known. A written request for the returned warrant files was sent to the Clerk of Courts on October 8, 2026. On October 9, 2026 the clerk’s office replied by email that the materials had been located and are impounded by order of the Superior Court until December 22, 2026.
The charges do not concern magazines. The ten indicted counts allege possession of firearms, silencers, a 3D printer, an incendiary material and unlicensed fireworks manufacturing. None charges possession or transport of magazines.
The legal effect is undecided. Mr. Gordon’s supporters contend that the statement about the bag was inaccurate and that it bears on whether the searches were lawful. Whether the warrants would stand without it is a question for the court. As far as this site is aware, no motion raising it had been filed as of October 9, 2026.
None of this decides guilt or innocence. Mr. Gordon is presumed innocent of every charge.

Questions and answers

What is Patrick Gordon charged with?

A ten-count indictment in Essex County Superior Court, Salem, Massachusetts (docket 2677CR00083) alleges possession of a machine gun, an assault-style weapon, three silencers, a firearm, a 3D printer for firearm manufacturing, an untraceable firearm and an incendiary material, and manufacturing fireworks without a license. These are allegations; he is presumed innocent.

Did Patrick Gordon buy gun magazines at Stateline Guns, Ammo & Archery on December 18, 2025?

The Commonwealth’s probable-cause-for-arrest statement says a trooper stated that he observed the contents of Mr. Gordon’s bag to be gun magazines. The store’s Sales/Return Journal for that day records invoice 101943 at 4:39 PM as four boxes of Federal small pistol primers for $52.00, and the store owner told Invention Incarnate that the store sold no magazines that day.

What is a pistol primer?

A primer is the small metal cap seated in the base of a cartridge that ignites the powder when struck. Primers are sold in boxes of 100 for reloading ammunition. A magazine is a different item: a container that holds cartridges and feeds them into a firearm.

Is Patrick Gordon charged with possessing or transporting magazines?

No. None of the ten indicted counts charges possession or transport of large-capacity magazines.

Does the sales record mean the case will be dismissed?

No one can say that. Whether the “gun magazines” statement appears in the search-warrant affidavits, and whether the warrants would stand without it, are open legal questions. The affidavits are impounded by the court until December 22, 2026.

Which invoice is Patrick Gordon’s purchase?

Invoice 101943, at 4:39 PM, for $52.00, according to the store owner. The entry before it in the journal, a $200.00 handgun deposit at 4:32 PM, is a different transaction.

Sources for this page

Commonwealth’s probable-cause-for-arrest statement, pages 4–5, Commonwealth v. Patrick Gordon (Exhibit 1).
Stateline Guns, Ammo & Archery, Sales/Return Journal for 12/18/2025, page 5 of 6, printed 1/15/2026 (Exhibit 2, detail).
Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, press release announcing the arraignment, December 2025, and accompanying photograph, mass.gov (Exhibit 3, detail).
Photograph of a Stateline store bag, Invention Incarnate, January 2026 (Exhibit 4).
Indictment ESCR2026-83, Essex County Superior Court, docket 2677CR00083, filed March 30, 2026.
Letter of Invention Incarnate to the Clerk of Courts, Essex County Superior Court, requesting the returned search-warrant files, October 8, 2026.