NEWS Motorist Holding 16 Guns Arrested Outside L.A. Airport

[{TEX}Hawaii((]

A motorist with 16 guns and at least 700 rounds of ammunition in his pickup truck was arrested Friday at a vehicle checkpoint as he entered Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said.

The weapons and ammunition were in a container in the back of the man's truck, which was stopped by airport police officers at a major entrance to the passenger terminals area, said airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles.

The 47-year-old man's identity was not immediately released.

Only one of the weapons, a revolver, was loaded, airport police Sgt. Jim Holcomb said.

The man was arrested for investigation of felony transporation of an assault rifle, he said.

Police initially reported that 37 weapons were found in the truck. Castles said that count was an estimate based on the number of containers in the truck, which did not all contain weapons.

Holcomb said there was no indication the man was out to do any harm at the airport and was apparently there to pick up someone.

"He just made a very bad decision and should not have been carrying those weapons," Holcomb said.

Airport police routinely set up vehicle checkpoints at roads leading into the airport's central ring roads, but Castles said it is rare to find so many weapons at once.

The FBI, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Los Angeles Police Department are investigating whether the weapons were properly registered.

Source: FOXNews.com
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ooops. Sounds like he was just headed for a good day at the range....

Old news, and it looks like he:

1. was set up to get caught, or;
2. set himself up, as a court case.

Apparently, the guy had all the guns locked up (he also had a lot of ammo) in the back of his truck, and all of the guns were legally registered to him. And as I don't know the law out there in LA-LA Land, I can only guess that he wasn't breaking any laws by driving onto airport property, or even approaching the terminal, as long as he didn't try to take one or more guns INTO the terminal.

[HK4U]

Not sure but just owning a gun out there might get you in trouble.

Originally Posted by HK4U

Not sure but just owning a gun out there might get you in trouble.

AFAIK, just LIVING out there can get you in trouble.

[udcG26]

Boycot KALIFORNIA.

[Tophog]

Being from La-La Land originally, (1953- 1999), I can tell you that if the gentleman in question had a pre-ban, hi-cap assault type weapon, then he was in violation, period. The Republik has taken a dislike for anything of that nature. I have friends who shipped their 'non-compliant' weapons out of state or buried them. I shipped myself and my 'entourage' to Nevada about 9 years ago, where at least I'm not treated like a criminal just because I want to defend my family.

(I think Front Sight still offers to store non-compliant weapons at their facility in Nevada for free).

In Kalifornia, transporting any LOADED weapon, legally owned, even in the trunk or locked glove box, without a CCW or LEO affiliation, has pretty much always been a no-no.

If I recall correctly, at any given time, L.A. only averaged about 23 ccw's issued for people of non-LEO or civilian status. Basically to bigwigs in the political scheme, and a couple of high dollar jewelry dealers. If you didn't 'know someone or have a lot of money', forget about even applying. Even though it was supposed to be on an 'as needed' or 'show cause' basis, it was a 'what can you do for me' attitude as far as the LAPD Chief and L.A. Sheriff were concerned.

On a positive note, I can attest that most L.A. cops are probably the best, very lenient, and compared to the attitudes I got from LEO's in Ariz., Tex. and Oklahoma, a whole lot more mellow. I was pulled over more than once with a loaded handgun under the seat in L.A., and when they found it, I got off with a warning. I wasn't tasered or 'treated like a (Rodney) King'. And I'm talking about Downtown L.A. (Anyone who knows the areas around 5th & Main, or 11th & Figueroa, knows what I'm referring to).

The guy at LAX might have been screwed, but he did it to himself. If he's that ignorant of attitudes and laws, I don't want him on my side. He's probably just as ignorant of proper weapon handling and safety. And unless he was in the process of moving, why have 10 or 20 or 30 guns in the vehicle? I don't want someone that paranoid around me. A carry gun and maybe a backup should be enough.

[Glock Fan]

Originally Posted by Tophog

The guy at LAX might have been screwed, but he did it to himself. If he's that ignorant of attitudes and laws, I don't want him on my side. He's probably just as ignorant of proper weapon handling and safety. And unless he was in the process of moving, why have 10 or 20 or 30 guns in the vehicle? I don't want someone that paranoid around me. A carry gun and maybe a backup should be enough.

I don't think the guy was "paranoid". The article clearly stated that the guy was on his way to the airport to pick up a friend, then heading to the range for some target shooting. Nothing wrong with a bunch of guns when heading to the range. My "usual" trip to the range involves 3 guns, more if I'm teaching a class.



gf

[tattedupboy]

There was another thread posted on this subject.

Anyways, I can't see what this guy did that was wrong. As far as I can tell, none of the weapons was loaded or immediately accessible to him and he wasn't in the airport terminal with any of them. I ask again, what did he do that was wrong?

[Tophog]

I haven't seen the article in question, but the starting post stated that he was reported to have a loaded handgun. Oops, his bad!

Granted, we may not think he did anything wrong, but he still violated Kalifornia rules, and specially LA County. I feel sorry for him, but he's still in violation. And at LAX no less. If he's not railroaded like U.S. Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean were, and they they were doing their sworn duty and protecting our country, he'll be lucky.

I'm not condoning his getting screwed, but if you live in L.A., you'd better know the rules. I left there because I got tired of trying to second guess which cop or politician had some vendetta against whatever flavor-of-the-month problem, while trying to make a name or headline to get more exposure on local news.

Just IMHO.

[anberg]

Given what has happened with terrorists and, before them, hijackers, I for one do not like Airport Security but I think it is, sadly, the new world.

Sure, he wasn't getting on a plane with those weapons, but stopping them at an Airport entrance as a first layer of protection is something I like. As you all know "layers" of security are important.

You go to a different State, you go to a Public Facility, it's your responsibility to find out the rules in advance.