Chattanooga Times Free Press
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Federal agents are running background checks on 30 firearms confiscated Tuesday during a Project Safe Neighborhoods investigation to combat illegal gun sales in the Highland Park, East Lake and East Chattanooga areas, Chattanooga police spokeswoman Sgt. Jerri Weary said.
Some of the firearms, which include shotguns, have been determined to be stolen, Sgt. Weary said.
Fourteen of the weapons were seized at the Sunflower Lane apartment of Richard T. Howard and Richard L. Howard, according to the sergeant. The father and son, both of whom police say are convicted felons, were arrested Tuesday in the Rustic Village complex on weapons possession and weapons trafficking charges, she said.
The Howards face “hefty sentences under federal guidelines for weapons-related offenses,” Sgt. Weary said in a news release issued Wednesday.
In addition to a search warrant executed at the Howard residence, she said, officers conducted a search at a Chris Lane residence and found 16 other weapons.
The investigation involved members of the Chattanooga Police Department’s special investigations unit; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the FBI; and the U.S. attorney’s office, according to Sgt. Weary.
Officers involved think the arrests and weapons seizures “will deeply impact the level of gun violence” in the areas targeted, Sgt. Weary said.
Copyright 2007 Chattanooga Publishing Company