Pasadena Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing 11 Machine Guns

Josey1

Pasadena Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing 11 Machine Guns By RICHARD WINTON, TIMES STAFF WRITERA man arrested after authorities stumbled onto dozens of assault weapons and 15,000 rounds of ammunition at his home in an upscale Pasadena neighborhood pleaded guilty Tuesday to unlawful possession of machine guns.Leonard W. Hebert, 58, a former television network engineer, admitted to possession of 11 machine guns in violation of federal law. Under the terms of the plea arrangement, Assistant U.S. Atty. Carole Peterson agreed to dismiss one count of unlawful possession of silencers.Hebert faces up to 10 years in federal prison when U.S. District Judge Ronald S.W. Lew sentences him Jan. 7. Authorities said, however, it is unlikely that Lew would give him the maximum. Hebert remains free on $50,000 bail. Michael McGuire, Hebert's attorney, could not be reached for comment. McGuire is best known for representing Michael Fortier, who was convicted of failing to warn authorities about the plot to bomb the Oklahoma City federal building.Federal officials said 11 of the guns seized from Hebert's two-story Craftsman home were automatic: capable of firing more than one shot with a single pull of the trigger. "Several of the weapons had been altered to be fully automatic," said a law enforcement official involved in the case.Hebert was arrested Feb. 20 after what Pasadena Police Chief Bernard K. Melekian called the largest weapons seizure in city history. Police officers made the discovery inadvertently.A robbery suspect, after holding up a local convenience store, drove his getaway vehicle up Hebert's driveway off South Los Robles Avenue, near California Boulevard.Hebert called police to report that a black pickup truck had entered his backyard. Officers, concerned that the suspect may have entered Hebert's home, checked the house and found a few of the guns in plain sight.They discovered the rest of the arsenal in a specially constructed room, according to Melekian. Among the items inside were: 61 rifles and machine guns, silencers, a disassembled hand grenade, several semiautomatic pistols and a helicopter ammunition drum.Hebert has insisted that he is a collector. But federal prosecutors have alleged that he participated in illegal firearms sales. Many of the weapons seized were rare, some valuable, and most vintage rather than present military issue, according to authorities.Herbert told a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent that he had collected firearms for 30 years, and had built some of the weapons using parts bought at gun shows, court records show. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000080809oct10.story

Bubba Joel

Try to be a law biding citizen and look what it got him......This POS judge should be mugged, and then see if he agrees with not owning a firearm...,even if it is numerous machine guns, it's nobodys business....IMHO

alledan

Right on Bubba! Besidess, a well organized militia can not be of much use without F/A's![This message has been edited by alledan (edited 10-11-2001).]

mudge

Somehow I don't feel sorry for this schmuck.He knew the class III's were illegal. If you can't do the time,don't do the crime!Mudge

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I can't come to work today. The voices said, STAY HOME AND CLEAN THE GUNS!

Andrew Adams

Saxon and Mudge,I couldn't agree more. I know a guy who collects fully automatics. My gun club is the only one in my area with enough backstop to let him rock and roll with a BMG. However, he also possesses a Class III and is willing to present it.Furthermore, he always calls the local police station before he leaves his house and tells them that in 20 min. he is going to be shooting out at White Oak, so they don't come out to investigate the full auto.If you want to collect his stuff, there is a right way to do it. This guy chose to do it the wrong way, and deserves the punishment he gets.BTW, the fully automatic has been illegal since 1934, I don't see this as some new infringement of his rights, but rather the willfull violation of statutes older than he is.

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When you want to dial long distance...AT&T, .223, or Jeremiah 33.3?

beantole

I think the laws pertaining to class 3 firearms are immoral because they discriminate on 2 basis's:1. If you are an older person you could have gotton a class 3 license easily in the 1960's and 1970's. Yonger people are screwed on this;2. If you have a lot of $$$$$$$$ today, regardless of your age, you can legally buy aclass 3 machine gun. The average younger blue collar worker has little or no chance of coming up with that kind of money.OBTW, I do think the guy was dumb to call the cops. I hope he does not go to jail.

mudge

Beantole.....Yeah and if you're REALLY old you could have bought a Thompson off the shelf in the early 1930's no questions asked. You can still get a class III weapon if you want one. Yeah, they're expensive but they were expensive, relatively speaking, back in the 80's too. If you think the cost of the weapon itself is outrageous, wait til you start feeding ammo through it in F/A.Keep trying. They're a hoot.p.s. Mrs. Mudge loves to light up the M-16 in rock n' roll mode.

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I can't come to work today. The voices said, STAY HOME AND CLEAN THE GUNS![This message has been edited by mudge (edited 10-12-2001).][This message has been edited by mudge (edited 10-12-2001).]