New Haven Register (New Haven, Conn.)
Milford, Conn. (AP) -- Imprisoned for more than two years on federal gun and bomb-making charges, Charles Cornelius offered federal authorities an incentive for leniency.
He gave up the whereabouts of a powerful rifle investigators had searched for ever since his arrest.
The .50-caliber Barrett 82-A1, considered one of the most powerful sniper rifles ever made, was locked away in a storage locker in Milford. With Cornelius’ information and a search warrant, FBI agents and police found the gun at EZ Access Self Storage on Friday in a locker rented by Cornelius under a false name, the New Haven Register reported.
“We decided, as a sign of good faith, ... we would turn the gun over,” said Norman Pattis, Cornelius’ lawyer. “I provided the federal government with the location of the weapon.”
Fearing a possibly booby trap or even a bomb inside the small storage area, agents brought in bomb technicians to check the locker before entering.
Pattis called the operation a huge “overreaction.”
Police allege Cornelius bought the Barrett rifle in May 2001 from a Seymour pawn shop after stealing the identify of a dead Pennsylvania man.
The $7,300 rifle, classified as “light artillery” by a Washington, D.C.-based gun-control group, can fire armor-piercing and incendiary rounds up to 2,000 yards and the automatic version of it is banned for public use.
The Marine Corp uses the rifle in its operations around the world. During the Persian Gulf war, the Barrett took out armored Iraqi personnel carriers at a range of 1,800 yards, the Register reported.
Cornelius, 34, was arrested in December 2001 after agents raided his parents home and seized a variety of ammunition, handguns and bomb-making literature. What they didn’t find was the .50-caliber Barrett. Cornelius has been jailed ever since on a $2.85 million bond and faces federal weapon and identity-theft charges.
Pattis disputes prosecutors’ claim that his client is a domestic terrorist.
“Basically Mr. Cornelius was a sophisticated hobbyist with a belief that the apocalypse was coming. Were he in Idaho, he’d be running for mayor,” Pattis told the Register. “He’s a guy who made a few little mistakes and everyone is overreacting.”
Pattis and prosecutors are negotiating a possible plea bargain, and turning over the rifle would be a key component, the Register reported.
“We’re trying to work things out,” Pattis said.