Cache of firearms found in Chatsworth [More B.A.T.F. Action in California]

DailyNews.com ^ | March 25th 2003 | Jason Kandel

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

CHATSWORTH -- Two drug officers on routine patrol ferreted out a cache of high-powered weapons and thousands of firearms parts worth more than $3 million, authorities said Tuesday.

The weapons, along with the components to assemble hundreds of additional guns, were found Friday night inside four large containers behind a storage facility in the 9800 block of Mason Avenue. The contents included Uzis, World War II-era M-1 carbines and grenade launcher adapters, along with military fatigues, military rations and other equipment.

"Today's event is the result of proactive work," LAPD Chief William Bratton said at a news conference, where he commended Officers Luke Walden and Mike Coogle for their work. "These are guns that will never have a chance to take a life in the city because they are now in our possession."

The discovery came after Walden and Coogle stopped two suspected drug users in a motor home and found that one of them had an illegal Uzi assault rifle in his backpack. When the officers asked about the rifle, they were directed to the Chatsworth location.

Armed with a search warrant, teams from the Los Angeles Police Department gun unit and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found four large storage bins filled with firepower. Two more bins were found later at a second address.

No arrests have been made, although police have been questioning a man they believe had stockpiled the weapons for years. They identified him only as an Indian national in his 40s who has been living in Chatsworth since he was 11.

"We know where he is," said police Lt. Steven Nielsen. "We're confident we're able to locate him if, in fact, we get a filing with the District Attorney's Office."

Police said they will seek charges of illegal gun possession and unregistered assault weapons against the man. Authorities said there was no evidence of terrorism.

Mayor James Hahn described the bust as a "gold mine of illegal weapons -- weapons that obviously have devastating firepower. We're going forward to make sure the responsible parties are prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

[Redcloak]

Note that they claim that he's been "stockpiling weapons for years". That's a quite, upper middle-class neighborhood. (I used to work nearby.) If there were truly a link between these weapons and crime, wouldn't it be a hell-hole instead?

(And keep in mind that li'l Jimmy Hahn wets his pants at the sight of a toy gun; so there's no telling how accurate the descriptions of these guns really are.)

[scubadave]

If only he was a young white male with a pickup!! The pictures would be plastered on USA Today. But they will bury the photo in the same bin with those of John Muhammed, Reginald Carr, Richard Reid, "Sgt" Akbar.

Otherwise, Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings would lead off their nightly news with a spew of catch phrases (brace yourself): "Cache of military weapons...white male...ex-military...assault weapons...compound in Chatsworth...exclusively white neighborhood...drug-dealing...churchgoing...tatooed...accused of beating his wife in 1991..tireless work of ATF undercover agents...In related news Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has sponsored gun legislation to make neighborhoods safer...and Coming up tonight, an intimate interview with Academy Award Winner Michael Moore"..end of sarcasm

[thunderdome]

" (brace yourself)"

Even bracing myself did not work...I think you left out "Republican", and "vast right-wing conspiracy".

BTW, I was at a comedy club last week and watched 3 comedians get up and experience dead silence and head shaking every time they tried Bush bashing, antiwar and other liberal rant/comedy. This was in Sunnyvale, CA and they must have thought that we were a bunch of liberals....wrong!

[happygrl]

Glad to hear that about the so-called comedians.

THAT is the kind of evidence which speaks to a deep sea change in this country.

Americans back this war, this President, and the regular folks don't take kindly to the doofusses that haven't kept up with this fact.

[LibTeeth]

RE:"hey look. the wod turned into a gun grab! "

It wouldn't be the first time. After all the 1934 National Firearms Act was the ugly step-child of Prohibition. Official guns = good, unofficial guns = bad. That lesson is being hammered home all over the globe, and many of our freedom loving young men in the military are putting into praxis that mentality. The era of civilian disarmament is gaining momentum. I expect some horrendous domestic incident to occur here soon, the gun laws just aren't coming into being fast enough for the socialists in both the major parties. We'll soon have plenty of practiced gun confiscators to enforce whatever laws do come to fruition.

[scubadave]

The anti-gun SS loves a national crisis, and the Code Red alert would provide a great pretext to outlaw large-caliber firearms (why, many people think that no one needs anything larger that a .22) and increase funding for the BATF (additional armored vehicles, CS gas, more MP5s, bigger databases, more search warrants issued). But racial profiling is verbotten!! Jack-booted thuggery is OK, as long as the victims are white families (ATF bonus points for church members and conservative activists).

In the meantime, they will muster an army of Columbia and NYU lawyers to sue gun manufacturers and retailers at every turn. Maybe a Homeland security tax on ammunition and existing gun owners (high taxes on cigarettes first, SUVs second, then fast food...)

[Darksheare]

They consider M-1 Garands as devastating firepower...
Sheeesh.
Now, I could see if the guy had street sweepers, AUGS, and an actual grenade launcher rather than just an adaptor.
The UZI, well.. that isn't innocnet.
Unless they're all deactivated like some of the 'bazookas' they raided from one guy that they claimed were 'lethal weapons'.

[Shooter 2.5]

M-1 Carbines, not Garands.

[Darksheare]

Still, that's not 'devastating'.
Devastating is when something is destroyed completely.
Like when you flatten it with a howitzer, or shoot the engine block of a truck in half with a .50 cal.
The anti-gun nuts don't know devastating from a hill of beans.
They think a .22LR is a devastating weapon because it looks mean. (To woodchucks!)

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

I have a friend who lives in California who is a firearm owner. Sometimes he goes out to a shooting range that is located by Beale Air Force Base. Not too long ago he was out there calmly firing his rifle when a police helicopter flew over really low checking out the various shooters firearms. They are using tactics like these to enforce the horrid assault weapons ban on normal peaceful citizens. The firearm Nazis are taking over the state.

[ibbryn]

The photo that ran with the story in a local LA paper showed a couple SKSs, an Enfield, about 10 bolt action rifles I couldn't identify and about 10 rifle cases (if the cases had weapons, wouldn't the Feds have laid the rifles on top of the cases like they did with the others for a better photo op?) These were all on the ground in front of a pile of wooden rifle stocks that was about 3 feet high and 8 feet long.

There was nothing in the photo that appeared exciting.

[B4Ranch]

"worth more than $3 million"

Hahahahahahahahahahaha

[LibTeeth]

That's street value after you "cut 'em" with starter pistols, tear gas pens, nunchakus, spear shafts, empty shot shell husks, jars of spent primers, empty powder cans, lens caps, lawn mower parts, old plumbing fixtures, springs, cosmoline, cracked stocks, busted grip panels, wooden dummy loads, solid cast iron "ordnance" with intimidating blue paint jobs, rolls of caps, strike anywhere matches, clothepins, slings, rusted wrenches, etc. Those Kali gun addicts will buy anything to get a fix, and old Father Gullible down at the Mission will hand out food stamps for anything that looks like a gun at the "For da Chuldrun Gun Buy Up" photo-op. Meanwhile the Community Oriented Poliz get to mainline pure black HK speed guns at their range dens.

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

It has been torched by the elitist politicians there who were elected by the foolish people.

As I'm sure you're aware, the Roberti-Roos bill was signed into law by Republican Governor George Deukmejian.

The law was further strengthened by Republican Atty General Dan Lungren.

It's gonna be real interesting to see what the Republican controlled House, Senate and White House do with the federal AW ban in Sept. 2004.

[45Auto]

The current government of the State of California is on record as saying "The Constitution does not grant a private right to own firearms." They are right in that the Bill of Rights does not GRANT anything to anybody; but they are wrong in their phoney interpretation, because the Bill of Rights and the 2nd PROHIBIT the government from preventing the citizenry from having arms. The current AG, the dastardly Bill Lockyer, wants to be the next governor; he is rabidly anti-armed citizen. With him on the throne, you can expect even more of this so-called seizing of "illegal weapons", because in his eyes, ALL privately owned weapons are illegal.

The sad part is that the guy who had these guns might have been selling them to the drug boys; but because the current California government is so anti-gun, one can not take at face value ANYTHING they say about the subject. They have no credibility when it comes to protecting civil liberties.

[El Gato]

one of them had an illegal Uzi assault rifle in his backpack

In California most any Uzi would be illegal these days, but what the heck is an Uzi assualt rifle? As far as I know all Uzis, semi-auto or select fire (capable of full auto) fire pistol catridges, most of them the somewhat anemic 9mm. By definition an assault rifle, (as opposed the legal fiction of an "assault weapon") is a select fire (to include 3 round burst if full auto is not an option) rifle firing an inermediate power catridge. Even an M-1 Carbine doesn't qualify as it's catridge is not intermediate power, sometimes those wouldn't even penetrate the heavy quilted jackets of the ChiComs in Korea. One more anti gun prosecuter and reporter without a clue.

[El Gato]

Not grenades. Not grenade launchers. But grenade launcher adapters!

It's the problem they've been having with drive by grenading, don't you know? </sarcasm

[OldCorps]

You're right. The real Cali cartel is the gubmint's cartel on guns. They have the peeple cowered to believe all their propaganda about how these firearms are illegal. The Kalifornia socialists are gittin the gubmint they voted for. This is the same crowd that believes SUV's are going around on their own attacking people.

[Centurion2000]

Not too long ago he was out there calmly firing his rifle when a police helicopter flew over really low checking out the various shooters firearms.

That is incredibly stupid ... even for a gun grabber ... helicopters (especially jet rangers) are easy meat for a decent rifleman.

[angry beaver norbert]

Fun little plinker, the carbine, but outclassed for a firefight these days.