Posted on 09/08/2001 2:23:32 PM PDT by t-shirt
Agents apparently knew felon stock-piled weapons before fiery standoff
Saturday September 08, 2001, 11:46:00 AM
LOS ANGELES (AP) - For better than a year federal agents knew that a convicted felon had illegally bought thousands of rounds of ammunition, but didn't serve a search warrant until last week, The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
The disclosure raises questions about the investigation leading to a deadly standoff that began when officers tried to serve a warrant at the home of James Allen Beck on Aug. 31. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Hagop "Jake" Kuredjian was shot and killed, and Beck barricaded himself in his home and died in an ensuing fire.
Search warrant affidavits unsealed in response to a federal Freedom of Information Act request showed that a federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent learned in July 2000 that Beck had bought $1,513.34 worth of ammunition and gun paraphernalia from a Pasadena gun shop.
ATF agents also were told by neighbors that Beck had been stockpiling guns at his home in an upscale Santa Clarita neighborhood, the Times reported.
Bernard J. Zapor, assistant special agent in charge of the ATF's Southern California division, told the Times that he could not discuss why the bureau waited 14 months before conducting its search for illegal weapons. An internal review of the shootout is ongoing, Zapor said, and the agency will not comment until it is completed.
The ATF has said there was no reason to believe that Beck would open fire on law enforcement officers serving the warrant.
The Sheriff's Department is conducting a separate homicide investigation into Kuredjian's death. The investigation has raised questions about whether Kuredjian was shot by Beck or another officer.
Beck, 35, a convicted felon who allegedly impersonated a U.S. marshal and was building a weapons cache, was on parole at the time of the shootout following three convictions for burglary, receiving stolen property and possession of an assault weapon.
Plus the Gestapo BATF admits they never had reason to believ he get violent with them or shoot at them. So why didn't they just go there pacefully anytime in the last 14 months, as they did previously, and tell them they had a search warrant and serve it? Why?
Because they wanted a violent Gun Confiscation showing on live TV to further the BATF and Government aagenda of Gun Control/Gun Confiscation!
That is why!
And this is only the beginning!
Anyone know if that is true?
How convenient for them. All the time they need to arrive at the conclusion they want, under the banner of "internal review." Beck is no hero or martyr, but why does it seem that when ATF is involved in serving warrants, citizens die?
Ok, I'm prepared to be deemed a "cop hater" now by those who show up to defend f troop.
From: Larry Becraft
Sat Sep 1 01:06:22 2001
Subject: Fw: FW:UNCONFIRMED: More info on California standoff
Courtroom tyranny exactly as described in UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES by John Ross. It sounds like the time has come.
THE REAL STORY ABOUT THE KALI "SNIPER"
I don't know if this will eventually come out or not but the truth is that the suspect James Beck is a former DEA agent who several years ago was arrested by the ATF for possession of machine guns.
Funny thing was, the guy was properly licensed. Unfortunately, he had several pre and post samples of each gun (like 25 MP5's,30 UZI's, etc). In any case, he was arrested, charged and tried. First trial; hung jury. Second trial; hung jury. The feds decided to try a 3rd time so he filed lawsuit for malicious prosecution AND WON.
Guess what, they tried him a 3rd time anyway. Result, another hung jury. Is it possible that the ATF was gunning for this guy. Probably. The ATF spin doctors are already hard at work calling this guy a "sniper".
The fact of the matter is that when an arrest warrant is executed, it's not standard practice to have the ATF as backup. They wanted to burn this guy out and use the fire as an excuse for the "destroyed evidence".
This was a government sponsored retaliatory assasination. He didn't start the fire, the tear gas did. Those are the facts.
"Who controls the news rules the mind; who controls entertainment rules the heart; who controls both rules the commonwealth." –Poor Richard II
Why is his girlfriend still being held by police illegally when she has not been suspected or accused of committing any crime?
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