Posted on 07/28/2005 7:15:31 AM PDT by holymoly
Man could face federal charges, officer escapes injury after a shot is fired
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are testing a cache of weapons seized from a Wheeling home in the early hours of July 19 to see if federal charges can be brought against a man arrested by local police that day.
Wheeling police arrested Gregory A. Banks, 43, of 496 Isa Drive, and charged him with aggravated discharge of a weapon and reckless discharge of a weapon after police said Banks fired an AK-47 at a police officer.
Officer James Theberge arrived at Banks' home at 1:57 a.m. July 19 after a female resident of the home called police to report a disturbance, said John Stone, Wheeling's deputy police chief. Theberge said he saw Banks outside the home with an AK-47 assault rifle before the man went back inside. Theberge said a shot was then fired from the house, hitting the ground just feet away from him.
Theberge called for assistance and more officers surrounded the home, which is located less than a quarter mile away from Twain Elementary School's entrance. Banks and three other people walked out of the house about 10 minutes after it was surrounded. Stone said Banks told police the gun went off "by accident."
Police entered the home and pulled out nearly a dozen guns, ammunition, a variety of knives and stacks of fireworks. Police also found phony badges, a gas mask, a ballistic helmet and a multitude of accessories for the guns, including a bayonet, a silencer and a shotgun hand stock.
The guns pulled from the home included an AK-47, a 12-gauge shotgun, two military style AR-15s, an Uzi-like M-11 and a Russian SKS assault rifle. Police also found other pistols and revolvers.
"(Banks) was using the weapons to scare the people of the house," Stone said of the incident leading police to the scene. "There was some kind of dispute between Banks and the owner (of the home)."
Stone said Banks lives in the house, but he does not own it.
Banks was the only person arrested last week. He posted bond Wednesday, said a spokesman from the Clerk of the Circuit Court's Office. He is scheduled to appear in court in Rolling Meadows Aug. 5.
Stone said Banks has a valid Firearm Owners Identification Card. All the guns can be possessed legally, Stone said, but altering them or accessorizing them with such things as bayonets or silencers can lead to federal gun charges.
"(Banks) said he bought them on the Internet," Stone said. "We don't know his motivation for having them."
No federal charges had been filed against Banks as of Monday.
Stone described Banks as "dangerous," given the amount and types of guns police found in his house.
"The last time I shot an AK-47 was in Vietnam, so that tells you what kind of weapons we're dealing with," Stone said. "These are weapons of war."
Stone also said police believe Banks is on medication. Prescription pill containers found in the home had Banks' name on the label and included antidepressants.
" Wondering what is the relevance of the location of the school entrance."
That's to let us know how far the man would have had to travel to ruthlessy gun down an entire kindergarten class.
Considering all his inflamatory anti-gun remarks, the inside of Wheeling's deputy police chief, John Stone's, head is made of stone, it's not just his name.
For some SKSs imported after a certain date, attaching a bayonet is in fact a federal crime: they can't be imported with bayonets, so adding one makes it something that should not have been imported, thus is deemed illegally imported - big no-no.
Pretty pathetic that he may get tossed in the slammer for basically sticking a $2 screwdriver on an SKS. More stupid is that the charge hinges on whether it was actually attached or not - and it's pretty easy for someone at the scene to stick it on and say "look what evil thing I found!"
The rules on which SKSs can have bayonets attached is convoluted and stupid. I can buy a recently-imported Yugo SKS with bayonet attached, but I can't put one on my intermediate-imported Chinese SKS.
Wondering what is the relevance of the location of the school entrance.
_____________________________________________________
Gun grabbing is always "for the children"...
Kitchen knives are very sharp, very long, and can easily kill.
Probably smokes too.
And that's the real kicker!
You must have missed this part, he also had "a shotgun hand stock".
/Sarcasm
Crap, he did?
Damn. Now I want one, too.
My favorite part, and one worth thinking about:
"Stone described Banks as 'dangerous,' given the amount and types of guns police found in his house."
So, whether or not you are dangerous has nothing to do with intent or actions, but on how many legal items you legally possess.
That was my first thought. With one sentence, this guy demonized millions of rational, law-abiding Americans.
there is a problem with them if the foreign /domestic part count is not 'correct'.
This goes out to everyone who posted on this topic.
Guess who!
First of all these weapons are part of my collection of military and police memorabilia.
The "silencer" is an exhaust pipe for my kids scooter.
I'm hoping for as much NRA and 2ND amendment activists support as possible.
This was an accidental discharge from inside my house and NOT AT THE POLICE!!!I THANK GOD THAT NOBODY WAS HURT.
JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT THE MEDIA SNSATIONALIZES EVERYTHING FOR SALES.IF YOU WANT THE REAL TRUTH, COME TO COURT ON 8/24 RM 110 ROLLING MEADOWS. PLEASE, I ASK FOR YOPUR SUPPORT.......THANK YOU ALL
WHEELING MAN.
An AK-47 even in full auto mode is legal according to the supreme law of our nation.
What's illegal is any law "infringing" on the peoples rights.
So what's up with that?
Yes absolutely true, but I was referring to the body of administrative "law" developed by the batf that among other things considers a piece of pipe and a piece of paper with pictures of a machine gun on it to be a machine gun.
The guns pulled from the home included an AK-47, a 12-gauge shotgun, two military style AR-15s, an Uzi-like M-11 and a Russian SKS assault rifle. Police also found other pistols and revolvers.
"These are weapons of war."
THE WIFE IS A RECOVERED ALCOHOLIC WHO CALLS THE POLICE EVERY TIME SHE RELAPSES, TO GET ME OUT OF THE HOUSE SO SHE CAN CONTINUE DRINKING. I WAS MERELY REMOVING THE GUNS FROM THE HOUSE AND SHE THOUGHT I WAS "LEAVING HER" SO SHE CALLED. THE GUN WENT OFF INSIDE THE HOUSE AND RICCOCHED(SP)TO THE DIRECTION OF THE OFFICER. ALL GUNS ARE LEGAL. THE "GRENADE LAUNCHER" IS A FLARE LAUNCHER. THIS WHOLE INCIDENT IS DESTROYING MY LIFE......
An aside about alcoholics. Most are either "recovering" or drinking. Few are "cured" and most of those who are generally did not deserve the label.
If this is as you say, there should be evidence of a bullet strike in the home somewhere (to produce the ricochet).
Make sure this is noted, either by having your lawyer take the cops there, or taking the officer doing the investigation there and showing it to him/her.
This is as close as you will get to proving you did not intentionally shoot at them and will provide reasonable doubt in favor of a negligent/acidental discharge as opposed to shooting at the police.
Prove that, and the animosity level toward you should diminish somewhat. They will still be pissed that a bullet came their way, even accidentally, but an accident, with absence of malice is a little less reason to hang you.
We all know the media are not straight shooters when it comes to getting the facts straight, especially regarding firearms.
You might want to demand a correction of any abject misstatements regarding the items siezed, especially the flare launcher and silencer, which, hopefully is a fake. Discuss this with your lawyer.
You are in for a rough time over this, no doubt, but if you are in the right, lawyer up and get this straightened out.
Then go after the paper.
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