Stay safe !
Posted on 09/08/2004 2:38:14 PM PDT by fidelio
Boston Teen Arrested in McAllen Break-In An 18-year-old Massachusetts man has been charged today with breaking into a McAllen pawn shop and stealing handguns.
An officer found Atbin Hoshang Forghan of Canton, Massachusetts, outside Danny's Pawn Shop before dawn.
Forghan allegedly was carrying stolen munitions, a bulletproof vest and a switchblade.
Forghan was arraigned today on charges of burglary and possessing prohibited weapons.
Bond is 550-thousand dollars.
Investigators say Forghan traveled to McAllen by bus from the Boston area earlier this week and he had visited the pawn shop.
McAllen police also contacted Homeland Security officials.
An investigator with the Joint Terrorism Task Force interviewed Forghan.
It's considered a bad idea to alter headlines in posted articles, fidelio.
yeah, I guess I should have learned my lesson from the Boston Globe.... a thousand apologies... lol
I'm sure he was a legal alien and all that..eh.
Tick, tick, tick
Obviously a good Irish lad....or perhaps Iranian?
Well...I live in McAllen...this must be the other Anglo I saw here this week. Not a good idea for Anglos to get into crime here...easily spotted. 99.99% of the crime suspects are described as "...a man of medium build, brown hair, brown eyes, 5'9", 180 lbs..." I might here a knock on the door tonight
Yes, that is an Iranian name, and it is definitely a terrorist activity. What was he going to do with the guns? Quick trip to a Dallas school? I hope he stays in custody so we can find out.
What is the importance of this petty crime?
Kerry Country!
McAllen is a bit of a commute to Dallas, I'm afraid. Sounds more like the misdirected lad had watched one too many cowboy movie and was trying to invade Reyonsa.
The McAllen airport is where that S. African(suspected terrorist)lady was arrested. The border is full of pawn shops with lots of guns which triple in value just 8 miles south in Mexico. I moved away from there 9 years ago when things started going out of control.
"Kerry Country!" - a citizen of such country; were as it would.
McALLEN, Texas McAllen police have alerted federal homeland security officials after the arrest of Massachusetts man today in a pawn shop burglary.
Police say they're holding 18-year-old Atbin Hoshang Forgttan of Canton, Massachusetts, on a burglary charge.
K-R-G-V T-V in Weslaco reports police say their suspect is of Arabic descent and had just arrived in McAllen after a bus trip from Boston.
Investigators say he broke through a glass front door at Danny's Pawn Shop in McAllen before dawn today and took several semiautomatic handguns and ten boxes of ammunition.
Police were alerted by a silent alarm.
http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2273510
Houston, Corpus, Austin, San Antonio & Crawford are all a lot closer than Dallas.
Updated story from KRGV...
An 18-year-old Massachusetts man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of breaking into a pawn shop and stealing handguns.
McAllen police Sgt. Jose Morales said an officer found Atbin Hoshang Forghan outside Danny's Pawn Shop about 2:15 a.m. carrying stolen munitions, a bulletproof vest and a switchblade.
Police say Forghan used a concrete block to break through the glass of Danny's Pawn Shop on Broadway in McAllen. He then busted a display case, taking seven semi-automatic handguns, some ammunition, and a bullet-proof vest.
A silent alarm led police to the area where they forced Forghan to surrender at gunpoint.
Sources close to NEWSCHANNEL 5 say Forghan was carrying $3000 when he was busted in addition to a laptop computer, and a receipt from a store where he had purchased leg chains and handcuffs.
Investigators said that Forghan had come to McAllen on a bus from the Boston area two days ago and had been in the pawn-shop during those days. Employees at the pawn shop tell NEWSCHANNEL 5 they had seen Forghan in store, sometimes spending hours just looking around.
Some employees thought Forghan was homeless because he had slept in the alleyway outside the store the past two nights, even giving him $20 trying to help him out.
Morales said it appeared that Forghan was working alone but that the investigation was continuing. Forghan was arraigned Wednesday afternoon on charges of burglary and possessing prohibited weapons. Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Hanley set bond at $500,000 for the burglary charge and $50,000 for the prohibited weapons charge.
Police contacted Homeland Security, which interviewed Forghan, according to Homeland Security spokesman Art Moreno. He said an investigator with the Joint Terrorism Task Force interviewed Forghan but that any federal investigation would be handled by the
FBI.
FBI spokeswoman Rosalie Savage did not immediately return a call for comment.
Updated story from KRGV...
An 18-year-old Massachusetts man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of breaking into a pawn shop and stealing handguns.
McAllen police Sgt. Jose Morales said an officer found Atbin Hoshang Forghan outside Danny's Pawn Shop about 2:15 a.m. carrying stolen munitions, a bulletproof vest and a switchblade.
Police say Forghan used a concrete block to break through the glass of Danny's Pawn Shop on Broadway in McAllen. He then busted a display case, taking seven semi-automatic handguns, some ammunition, and a bullet-proof vest.
A silent alarm led police to the area where they forced Forghan to surrender at gunpoint.
Sources close to NEWSCHANNEL 5 say Forghan was carrying $3000 when he was busted in addition to a laptop computer, and a receipt from a store where he had purchased leg chains and handcuffs.
Investigators said that Forghan had come to McAllen on a bus from the Boston area two days ago and had been in the pawn-shop during those days. Employees at the pawn shop tell NEWSCHANNEL 5 they had seen Forghan in store, sometimes spending hours just looking around.
Some employees thought Forghan was homeless because he had slept in the alleyway outside the store the past two nights, even giving him $20 trying to help him out.
Morales said it appeared that Forghan was working alone but that the investigation was continuing. Forghan was arraigned Wednesday afternoon on charges of burglary and possessing prohibited weapons. Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Hanley set bond at $500,000 for the burglary charge and $50,000 for the prohibited weapons charge.
Police contacted Homeland Security, which interviewed Forghan, according to Homeland Security spokesman Art Moreno. He said an investigator with the Joint Terrorism Task Force interviewed Forghan but that any federal investigation would be handled by the
FBI.
FBI spokeswoman Rosalie Savage did not immediately return a call for comment.
http://www.krgv.net/cgi-bin/newspro/viewnews.cgi?newsid1094684660,77776,
GOOGLE Search Term: "Forghan"
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Forghan%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&filter=0
"Well...I live in McAllen...this must be the other Anglo I saw here this week."
Or it could have been me...Welcome to Free Republic and to McAllen...:-)
-Toonces
no good deed goes unpunished.
I'm surprised the handguns weren't put in a safe overnight, very unusual for any pawn or gun shop, unless they were just POS cheapos, even then the repairs will cost more than the lost guns.
All the way from Boston's a long way for an Arab or Iranian to travel just to swipe guns and a bulletproof vest. Sounds like he had a pretty specific deed in mind to put all this stuff on his shopping list.
Stay safe !
You have to be.
Yes, it is, Squantos.
I'm just outside of Edinburg, which is now almost a part of McAllen, and there's lot of strange stuff going on down here.
Breaking into a pawn shop and stealing weapons is tame compared to some of the stuff I've been hearing about.
As always, follow the money. It will lead you to the people.
If I were a gringo living permanently in deep South Texas, I'd either move or invest in the best weapons I could afford.
Ping to a very important Texas thread.
check this out
We lived in Harlingen from late '85 to '88.
We both quit really good jobs (the only reason we were there) and moved.
I have been doing what investing in weapons that I can since then.
My apologies to FReepers that live in the Valley, but I wouldn't go back if I had buried money there.
I have pawn shops for clients. I know a little about their security.
Even the dingiest pawn shop would be the absolute last place I would break into.
That's laughable.
You need to talk to some of the people I talk to everyday.
Nothing about this story sounds right. There's far more to it. Fortunately, this moron was carrying a laptop. That will reveal all.
What's up with these guys coming and going thru McAllen?
A gun store has a "glass front door" & no burglar bars?
Maybe he'll return to Boston when he's 30.
Wonder what the handcuffs, etc., were for.
$500,000 is a BIG bail, no?
"Morales said it appeared that Forghan was working alone"
Yeah, right. Hand me those pliers.
DRUGS = MONEY = TERRORISTS
"Wonder what the handcuffs, etc., were for."
Hostages.
We have hunted in south Texas for years. Every Sat. nite during hunting season we had dinner across the border. No more, it got too scary.
Si.
And I sure wouldn't be sleeping in a S. Texas alley with $3000 in cash on me. I wonder whats up with his purchase of leg chains and handcuffs.
Strangely enough, the gringo culture is still predominate in Brownsville and Harlingen, even though they're further south than McAllen.
As you come up the border, the culture becomes that of Mexico.
There is a mindset in Mexico which has suppressed the people of that country for hundreds of years.
Everyone desires to be the top dog raking in the illicit big bucks.
The people who can get away with the most and make the most money out of it are admired and emulated.
It's their way of life.
The Mexican Mafia lifestyle is well entrenched in Texas border towns, and gringos aren't going to change it.
Sounds like a few hostages were about to be rustled up.
I'm locked and loaded in Arlington. Just try it MF's.
Ever since this problem in Russia, I've been reflecting about our schools. I even went and talked to the principal about the security procedures and what the plan was in a threatening situation, at my little grandsons school yesterday. I would think they wouldn't try anything locally around here though because the kids (not to mention moms and dads) probably armed better than they would be.
As he was a member of a cell, they all are, it will probably reveal nothing.
Yup. This caught my eye:
"Sources close to NEWSCHANNEL 5 say Forghan was carrying $3000 when he was busted in addition to a laptop computer, and a receipt from a store where he had purchased leg chains and handcuffs.
Was he going to kidnap someone? Who?
Did you learn anything from those google links?
When the time comes, where would ya place the border?
(wondering where to put down stakes)
We have too many Texas border towns where the population has not assimiliated into the American culture. They brought theirs from Mexico.
They owe allegiance to Mexico, not the US.
That culture leans heavily on the macho men who deal drugs and make the big bucks.
They don't give a doodly damn about a terrorist attack in Houston or LA. They just want to make money.
That they are pawns in the terrorist game is irrelevant.
They plan to retire in Mexico at the age of thirty five anyway.
The sad part of all of this is that these actions are applauded and admired by most of the population, and no American will ever be privy to the information necessary to stop it.
North of Victoria.
Sorry, South Texans.
" North of Victoria."
"Sorry, South Texans."
Sabine river.
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