From
Traverse City Record-Eagle
October 17, 2003
Suspect had recently found God, says relative
ALSO READ: Document: Purported militiaman out for police
By
Record-Eagle staff writer
TRAVERSE CITY - Norman "Dave" Somerville lived a self-sufficient life and rarely left his 40-acre property nestled in thick woods east of Mesick, a family member said.
It was during one of his rare trips away, to Home Depot last Friday, when federal agents arrested Somerville, saying they didn't want to contend with an alleged machine gun mounted to greet visitors to his property.
Somerville faces a detention hearing in Grand Rapids Monday, where prosecutors are expected to argue Somerville should remain in custody pending the outcome of his case.
Somerville, who police describe as a self-proclaimed militia member, faces up to 10 years in prison on a three-count indictment that includes federal weapons and marijuana charges.
"I do not believe Dave is a monster," Somerville's sister-in-law, Robyn Somerville, of Dearborn, wrote in an e-mail to the Record-Eagle.
Robyn Somerville said that although her brother-in-law did not have a job and was worried about trespassers on his property, the 42-year-old recently found God and was baptized.
But authorities say Somerville crossed the line between citizen and criminal when he allegedly converted several Fabrique Nationale L1A1 semiautomatic rifles to machine guns.
At the suspect's arraignment last week, assistant U.S. Attorney Lloyd Meyer said Somerville's actions prompted other militia members to assist authorities.
"Law-abiding, mainstream militia members are cooperating with federal authorities," Meyer said at the hearing. "Mr. Somerville is an armed and dangerous man who should be detained for the safety of the community and who will not respect the authority of this court."
At what officials call his "compound," police say Somerville was ready for any unwanted visitors - especially police.
Officials were wary of arresting Somerville on his property because he had recently made death threats to state police, according to Valerie Goddard, the ATF's special agent in charge of the Detroit office.
"There's only one way in and one way out and he did have a gun mounted outside, ready to shoot," Goddard said. "We decided that we were going to wait, be patient, not expose our people to danger."
While Goddard said she would not speculate about why Somerville wanted machine guns, she said he expressed views consistent with what has been espoused by anti-government militia organizations.
Robyn Somerville said she didn't know whether her brother-in-law was a member of any militia, but she said he knew people who were militia members and had "kind of a unique way of interpreting the Constitution."
As for weapons converted into machine guns, Somerville said she didn't know anything.
"We were always under the impression that the guns that he had were legal, that they could be converted, but that they weren't," she said.