By Myron Levin
The Los Angeles Times
TORRENCE, Calif. — Authorities are weighing charges against four people after a drug raid uncovered a large cache of weapons, police equipment and literature about bomb-making, Torrance police said.
Officers found small amounts of methamphetamine and narcotics paraphernalia when searching a home in the 19700 block of Tomlee Avenue last Thursday, according to Torrance Police Officer David Crespin. They also found 30 to 35 handguns and rifles, along with ammunition, strewed throughout the house.
Among the weapons was a Browning .30-caliber machine gun and grenade launcher. The machine gun was mounted on a tripod oriented toward the front door and street, police said. A second tripod on which the gun could be mounted was found on a landing upstairs.
The officers were “not expecting, obviously, to locate this type of arsenal,” Crespin said.
Officers also found an array of police equipment, including hats from the Los Angeles Police Department, the FBI and U.S. Border Patrol, and a fake but genuine-looking Los Angeles County Sheriff’s badge. They also found red and blue lights and a microphone and speaker of the type mounted on law enforcement vehicles.
Crespin said Tuesday that the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office was still considering what charges might be filed against Russell Powell, 35, and three others.
Powell, described as the owner of the house, was arrested on suspicion of possession of narcotics and suspicion of possessing loaded firearms in connection with narcotics.
Copyright 2008 The Los Angeles Times