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ATF raids Wallingford mobile home
EMCS
Member Posts: 4,063
WALLINGFORD - A usually quiet mobile home park was shaken Friday morning when about 15 officers from the U.S. bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and local police descended on one of their neighbor's homes with force.
"They had their guns drawn and were surrounding the house," said Jennifer Monroe of Hosford Bridge Road. "These weren't small guns, they were machine guns. It wasn't normal."
Lynne Boynton, of 15 Hosford Bridge Road, went to her husband's truck for coffee money at about 6 a.m. and was pushed to the driveway and handcuffed with an officer's knee in her back and a gun to her head.
ATF officers surrounded her father-in-law's home at Western Sands Mobile Home Park and used a battering ram to enter the unlocked home in the rear, Boynton said.
"They were pouring out of there like crazy," said Monroe, who can easily see the front door. "They had Lynne in handcuffs. We were like 'What are they looking for?' "
Once inside, officers pulled Gilman Boynton and Paul Boynton out of bed, the men said. Paul Boynton said three or four officers threw him to the floor and put a gun to his head. Gilman Boynton, 76, who suffers from a heart condition, was made to sit in the living room, he said.
"Don't I have any rights?" a visibly shaken Gilman Boynton said. "I've been living here for over 40 years. The police have been here and seen my guns."
The family was told by ATF officers that the agency received a tip six weeks ago that a convicted felon was living at the home and had access to guns, Lynne Boynton said. Paul Boynton was arrested 34 years ago at the age of 17 with a friend who had forged a check. He hasn't been arrested since, he said.
Gilman Boynton is a gun collector, who keeps his rifles in a locked case on the wall, and a Beretta pistol in a safe. On Friday, ATF officers confiscated 14 rifles from the gun case and took his permits, he said. After breaking the safe, the ATF officers left the Beretta with a magazine cartridge still in the safe in Boynton's dresser.
"If they are so worried about guns, why did they leave a pistol in the safe and the holster?" Lynne Boynton said. "It was humiliating; I've never been handcuffed in my life."
According to a search and seizure warrant signed by U.S. District Court Judge Joan G. Margolis in New Haven Thursday, the agents were authorized to seize firearms, ammunition, holsters and destructive devices. They were also looking for personal property that identified the residents, including canceled mail, deeds, leases, rental agreements, photographs, personal telephone books, diaries, utility and telephone bills, statements, identification documents and keys.
The confiscated guns and the arrest warrant must be presented to Margolis in court.
There were no arrests during Friday's raid.
Paul Boynton said he is not a gun enthusiast and didn't make the connection between his 34-year-old conviction and his father's collection.
"This could have been handled so much easier," Boynton said. "All they had to do was have an officer come to my door and tell me."
The Boynton's rear door was bashed and has to be secured. Garbage bags, clothing, jewelry, a television and other household items were dumped in heaps in the various rooms. Paul Boynton, who suffers from herniated discs and other back problems, was having difficulty walking.
The officers called a medic for Gilman Boynton to check his vital signs, and asked if he wanted to be hospitalized. He refused.
"At the end of it when they didn't find nothing, they were real nice," Gilman Boynton said.
Neighbor Natalie Monroe, mother of Jennifer, said in the 21 years she's lived there, she's never seen any disturbances across the street and was shaken at the sight of her neighbor lying in her driveway in handcuffs. She was also concerned about the effects all the excitement would have on Gilman Boynton's health.
"We were floored," Natalie Monroe said. "We were like what the heck is going on? I've never seen anything like this. They went through all their vehicles."
A Wallingford Police Department detective said the department sent several officers to the scene at the request of the ATF. But the department had no knowledge of the details in the case, and referred questions to the bureau. Telephone messages left at the ATF's field offices in New Haven and Boston were not returned.
The officers told the family that Paul Boynton could still be arrested because the keys to the gun rack were hanging up in the kitchen, Lynne Boynton said.
"But I had to help them open it," Gilman Boynton said.
http://myrecordjournal.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=20316296&BRD=2755&PAG=461&dept_id=592709&rfi=6
mgodin@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2255
"They had their guns drawn and were surrounding the house," said Jennifer Monroe of Hosford Bridge Road. "These weren't small guns, they were machine guns. It wasn't normal."
Lynne Boynton, of 15 Hosford Bridge Road, went to her husband's truck for coffee money at about 6 a.m. and was pushed to the driveway and handcuffed with an officer's knee in her back and a gun to her head.
ATF officers surrounded her father-in-law's home at Western Sands Mobile Home Park and used a battering ram to enter the unlocked home in the rear, Boynton said.
"They were pouring out of there like crazy," said Monroe, who can easily see the front door. "They had Lynne in handcuffs. We were like 'What are they looking for?' "
Once inside, officers pulled Gilman Boynton and Paul Boynton out of bed, the men said. Paul Boynton said three or four officers threw him to the floor and put a gun to his head. Gilman Boynton, 76, who suffers from a heart condition, was made to sit in the living room, he said.
"Don't I have any rights?" a visibly shaken Gilman Boynton said. "I've been living here for over 40 years. The police have been here and seen my guns."
The family was told by ATF officers that the agency received a tip six weeks ago that a convicted felon was living at the home and had access to guns, Lynne Boynton said. Paul Boynton was arrested 34 years ago at the age of 17 with a friend who had forged a check. He hasn't been arrested since, he said.
Gilman Boynton is a gun collector, who keeps his rifles in a locked case on the wall, and a Beretta pistol in a safe. On Friday, ATF officers confiscated 14 rifles from the gun case and took his permits, he said. After breaking the safe, the ATF officers left the Beretta with a magazine cartridge still in the safe in Boynton's dresser.
"If they are so worried about guns, why did they leave a pistol in the safe and the holster?" Lynne Boynton said. "It was humiliating; I've never been handcuffed in my life."
According to a search and seizure warrant signed by U.S. District Court Judge Joan G. Margolis in New Haven Thursday, the agents were authorized to seize firearms, ammunition, holsters and destructive devices. They were also looking for personal property that identified the residents, including canceled mail, deeds, leases, rental agreements, photographs, personal telephone books, diaries, utility and telephone bills, statements, identification documents and keys.
The confiscated guns and the arrest warrant must be presented to Margolis in court.
There were no arrests during Friday's raid.
Paul Boynton said he is not a gun enthusiast and didn't make the connection between his 34-year-old conviction and his father's collection.
"This could have been handled so much easier," Boynton said. "All they had to do was have an officer come to my door and tell me."
The Boynton's rear door was bashed and has to be secured. Garbage bags, clothing, jewelry, a television and other household items were dumped in heaps in the various rooms. Paul Boynton, who suffers from herniated discs and other back problems, was having difficulty walking.
The officers called a medic for Gilman Boynton to check his vital signs, and asked if he wanted to be hospitalized. He refused.
"At the end of it when they didn't find nothing, they were real nice," Gilman Boynton said.
Neighbor Natalie Monroe, mother of Jennifer, said in the 21 years she's lived there, she's never seen any disturbances across the street and was shaken at the sight of her neighbor lying in her driveway in handcuffs. She was also concerned about the effects all the excitement would have on Gilman Boynton's health.
"We were floored," Natalie Monroe said. "We were like what the heck is going on? I've never seen anything like this. They went through all their vehicles."
A Wallingford Police Department detective said the department sent several officers to the scene at the request of the ATF. But the department had no knowledge of the details in the case, and referred questions to the bureau. Telephone messages left at the ATF's field offices in New Haven and Boston were not returned.
The officers told the family that Paul Boynton could still be arrested because the keys to the gun rack were hanging up in the kitchen, Lynne Boynton said.
"But I had to help them open it," Gilman Boynton said.
http://myrecordjournal.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=20316296&BRD=2755&PAG=461&dept_id=592709&rfi=6
mgodin@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2255
Comments
http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=375554
This type of stuff is ridiculous.
Those guys arent any better then gestapo.
Doug
Why do you need a battering ram on a mobile home?This type of stuff is ridiculous.
It's called "practice ".[}:)]
The door was UNLOCKED.
Innocent people harassed and hurt.
Personal belongings broken and scattered.
How long before the man gets his firearms back?
bass turds
.
Makes little sense at this stage.
Maybe someone gave them a whole bunch of phony, false information, like an ex-wife, girlfriend, Jealous friend?
So is the guy a felon or is he not? Where do the keys have to be kept to be considered out of his "access"? Under lock and key? Then where do you put that key?
And a person on a firearms chat board defending those actions. Nice.
This doesnt sound right. Granted ATF has a history of screwing up on warrants, there has to be more to the story.Will be interesting to hear the whole truth behind this raid. A 34 year old non-violent felony convicion on a juvenile would not warrant this type of response
Or they needed a nice high profile case to secure additional funding...
I wasn't defending anything. Rhetorical questions really. Kinda like, "What is it the gentlemen wish? What would they have?"
And a person on a firearms chat board defending those actions. Nice.
I wasn't defending anything. Rhetorical questions really. Kinda like, "What is it the gentlemen wish? What would they have?"
Ah....indeed.
My neighbors are so pizzed at the abuses and illegal activities some of Nobamas' guys have committed that I don't even need to load any of mine.
There's a sign in the park across from my home, it reads; NO WITNESSES!
Some thing ain't right, they conficated 14 rifles and took his permits. You don't have permits in CT. You have one handgun permit to carry conceiled. There is no listing on the permit of what you own.
Does one need permits/licenses for full auto firearms in CT ??
They said he was a collector not a user.
And yet folks here will continue to argue that Police officers would never follow an order that was against the constitution. This is a prime example of the new breed of "lawman".
Bingo! The older cops with some time and experience would be less inclined to blindly follow orders..its the young bucks with the shaved heads, mirror glasses, black gloves and attitude problems that will blindly violate the oath they swore to uphold. Alot of the younger cops have already been brainwashed to believe that they are separate from the people they are supposed to protect and serve. The "us against them" mentality is already ingrained in their systems. I am a retired cop and I have to admit, some of these young cops scare the crap outta me!
quote:Originally posted by Survivalist86
And yet folks here will continue to argue that Police officers would never follow an order that was against the constitution. This is a prime example of the new breed of "lawman".
Bingo! The older cops with some time and experience would be less inclined to blindly follow orders..its the young bucks with the shaved heads, mirror glasses, black gloves and attitude problems that will blindly violate the oath they swore to uphold. Alot of the younger cops have already been brainwashed to believe that they are separate from the people they are supposed to protect and serve. The "us against them" mentality is already ingrained in their systems. I am a retired cop and I have to admit, some of these young cops scare the crap outta me!
And yet when I bring it up, and show videos of drunks being beat to hell or handcuffed speeders being tazed, I am anti-cop. I'm just saying that the days of Officer Al the Kiddies pal, has turned into "Oh crap...its the Ghestapo". We now fear the government...That is a shame...and by trying to point that out, I am the a-hole.
i believe there was someone on here a couple of weeks ago defending the atf also i beleive, i forgot who but this is the kind of crap they pull.
He might even have taken the bullet out of his pocket for this.
Typical cowards. LEOs now days are total cowards. If the order is ever given to take our guns all LEOs will follow orders. They would be to scared not to. They are not going to lose their pensions or go to jail for our rights. They will cover their own butts and that means by following orders from their superiors.
I keep stating that....and am attacked for it.
This is a case where a "tip" got the ATF rolling. A tip on what?
I feel compelled to "drop the dime" on a neighbor of mine (any neighbor), and see just what transpires.
There's more to this than what we have just received, folks.
Personal viewpoint: Clean up the illegal drugs and boozing at the liquor store on Rembert Street in Wallingford..by "transients" of a questionable citizenry.
It's late, and I've said enough. Joe
And yet folks here will continue to argue that Police officers would never follow an order that was against the constitution. This is a prime example of the new breed of "lawman".
This ain't new. The ATF has been doing this since 1968.
Merc
And THIS is the REAL problem......... [V]
Notice how they only do this to old, helpless people and would never try that crap on a real criminal organization.
It is training for gun confiscation.
Well, they will learn cost to benefit ratio if they try that crap on me or mine.
"They had their guns drawn and were surrounding the house," said Jennifer Monroe of Hosford Bridge Road. "These weren't small guns, they were machine guns. It wasn't normal."
So it would have been normal if they were carrying small guns?
Margaret Thatcher
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
Mark Twain