Maybe a great estate sale

usmarine0352_2005 · Jul 21, 2015

You know some poor city employee or cop working records is going, FML.

Some of the guns were new in the box. If the family claims them and they are all legal, probably a good estate sale if they decide not to keep them.

http://nypost.com/2015/07/21/police-find-over-1200-guns-in-decomposing-mans-home/

More Than 1,200 Guns, 2 Tons of Ammo Found at Upscale SoCal Home

"The boxes of ammunition were out behind the garage and they were just lots of them, piled at least 8-feet tall," a neighbor said

By Willian Avila and Gadi Schwartz

LOS ANGELES — Police investigating the death of a Los Angeles man uncovered an arsenal inside his home and garage – more than 1,200 guns and about two tons of ammunition, authorities said Monday.
Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Andrew Smith called the number of rifles, pistols and shotguns staggering. Many had never been fired and some were still wrapped in boxes, with price tags still attached.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Smith said. “Running the background, history and legality of these weapons is going to require a tremendous amount of time.”

“It’s not a crime to have a large number of weapons so long as they were legal to own and legally obtained,” Smith added. “We want to make sure that’s the case.”

stonecutter2 · Jul 21, 2015

Interesting.

I'm not a fan of the term "arsenal" getting thrown around so freely in the news lately. Makes it seem like just because someone has a couple thousand rounds of ammo (like, maybe 4 boxes of 22LR lol) they're "preparing for something."

Maybe the guy just really liked guns and ammo. Or maybe he thieved from a store regularly - I guess time will tell

Onmilo · Jul 21, 2015

Hoarder.

Sunray · Jul 21, 2015

"... the term "arsenal" getting thrown around..." Yep, but at least this time it's not 3 firearms and two boxes of ammo.
Sounds like the guy had a heart attack or whatever and died. Sad thing for his family.

Spats McGee · Jul 21, 2015

I've been known to make fun of the use of the term "arsenal" by the mainstream media. 1200 guns probably qualifies, though.

MtnCreek · Jul 21, 2015

Can someone explain where law enforcement has the authority to remove the firearms from the residence? They find a dead body and it seem the cops are more interested in hauling off the gun collection. Does he have a nice set of kitchen knives? I got dibs on them!

Spats McGee · Jul 21, 2015

MtnCreek said:
Can someone explain where law enforcement has the authority to remove the firearms from the residence? They find a dead body and it seem the cops are more interested in hauling off the gun collection. Does he have a nice set of kitchen knives? I got dibs on them!

There are a couple of ways that this could happen. I'm afraid that I don't have time to dig through CA law right now, but I can think of a couple of possible scenarios:
(1) The police are investigating a dead body, and nobody has come forward to claim the deceased as a relative. The police, acting under the "police power" might simply secure the firearms to make sure that they're not stolen and wind up on the black market.
(2) The police have some information that makes them suspect that some of the guns are not lawfully owned. They take them to see if they've been reported stolen. Yes, I know that they only need the serial numbers, but if they have been reported stolen, they'll need to return them to rightful owners.
(3) There might simply be a statute that says they can remove firearms when there's a dead body and no relative.

RetiredUSNChief · Jul 21, 2015

The only part that gripes me is the part where they make a big showing of it all by piling it indescrimately in heaps, all for show.

I can just picture them dropping and tossing things.

No respect, I tell you.

Dr. Sandman · Jul 21, 2015

It's not THAT many guns...

usmarine0352_2005 · Jul 21, 2015

There could be some very nice guns getting all scratched up and damaged piled up like that.

old lady new shooter · Jul 21, 2015

Estate sales in California never have guns, they usually sell them to a dealer. I guess it's too complicated to do the FFL transfers which are required here.

old lady new shooter · Jul 21, 2015

Not likely thieved, that's a very expensive neighborhood, $2mm and up last time I checked.

eddd7 · Jul 21, 2015

Collector

Drail · Jul 21, 2015

The police Commander called the number of rifles, pistols, and shotguns "staggering". Guess he's never been to a gun show. Ever. "It's not a crime to have a large number of weapons so long as they were legal to own and legally acquired". And of course YOU, Commander Smith, get make that decision. Who writes this stuff? Of course I guess you could put all those guns in a police lockup and then "lose track" of them. Of course that would never happen.

Havok7416 · Jul 21, 2015

Drail said:
The police Commander called the number of rifles, pistols, and shotguns "staggering". Guess he's never been to a gun show. Ever. "It's not a crime to have a large number of weapons so long as they were legal to own and legally acquired". And of course YOU, Commander Smith, get make that decision. Who writes this stuff? Of course I guess you could put all those guns in a police lockup and then "lose track" of them. Of course that would never happen.

I'd say it's fairly staggering for one individual. The most I've ever heard of one person having before this was 400-500. Based on the information available, it sounds like most (if not all) of the guns are brand new with the price tags still on them.

joem1945 · Jul 21, 2015

Well, it's commiefornis and they may find all the firearms are illeagle so the police will take them into custody. Anyone want to bet some will be missing? I wonder if they will engrave evidence and report numbers on them. That will sink the value.

X-Rap · Jul 21, 2015

Seeing the way his property was piled up like dirty laundry reminds me of the pictures I saw of the trailers full of confiscated guns after Katrina. It's sad if he doesn't have any close relatives but if he does I hope their mad as hell about this.

bannockburn · Jul 21, 2015

Maybe a great estate sale...I think not. More like the guns would be treated like they were Weapons of Mass Destruction and would be dismantled and destroyed accordingly. Either that or they will be tied up in court for eons to come and be worth very little if and when they are returned due to years of neglect and carelessness by the authorities.

kcofohio · Jul 21, 2015

The most shameful part: Here is a guy that died in his car, parked down the street, decomposing, and they have the audacity to parade his guns around like it is some kind of trophy. But they are checking into whether there was any criminal activity involved. Then they'll feel justified. What heroes (sarcasm)!

I do hope that there are family members that can lay claim to those guns. But I don't know much about California and their gun laws.

huntsman · Jul 21, 2015

"The boxes of ammunition were out behind the garage and they were just lots of them, piled at least 8-feet tall,"

I wonder how much was .22lr?

OptimusPrime · Jul 21, 2015

I know of a guy who died and he had about 300-400 lawnmowers on his property. Nobody made a fuss in the papers about him.

digsigs226 · Jul 21, 2015

(1) The police are investigating a dead body, and nobody has come forward to claim the deceased as a relative. The police, acting under the "police power" might simply secure the firearms to make sure that they're not stolen and wind up on the black market.

That seems to be the case:
"We don't think the weapons are illegal; we are taking them for public safety," Craig said, adding that it was a preemptive step to ensure the ammunition or guns wouldn't be stolen from the home. (LA Times)

There is much joking about having gun buying "addictions" here on this site, but this story kind of takes it to another level. Especially since he didn't even shoot many of them...

sequins · Jul 21, 2015

Let's all put on our tinfoil hats for a moment and imagine...

Was he prepping for a revolution? Using his personal fortune to finance the weapons he would use? Was this imminent threat to the republic detected and a phone call and a pen led to a "heart attack" and the plot's unraveling, all unbeknownst to a naive American public? Have I read one too many Tom Clancy novels?

Just joshing with you guys because I think it's fun to come up with crazy theories. I don't think the above is true at all but I mean 1200 guns and they were new in wrappers... It's not hard to come up with a story! That's just incredible! The guy was probably just a hoarder and there's nothing to it but IMO for once "Arsenal" and "Staggering" are pretty accurate terms. I mean, I thought 1200 guns probably was a literal misreport of the number "120" that got typo'd until I saw the pictures. This story is crazy.

USAF_Vet · Jul 21, 2015

“It’s not a crime to have a large number of weapons so long as they were legal to own and legally obtained,” Smith added. “We want to make sure that’s the case.”

Why, so they can prosecute the dead guy if they turned out to be illegal?

usmarine0352_2005 · Jul 21, 2015

Why, so they can prosecute the dead guy if they turned out to be illegal?

No, but they could be linked to crimes.

Plus, if they weren't legal to own, say a stolen gun, the owner might want it back. Also, what if he had Class III weapons and no Class III? It might make thinks interesting.

I doubt he's some big underground gun dealer, but you never know.

Maybe a great estate sale

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