1 Million Rounds of Ammunition

[Jag]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,256170,00.html

More Than 1 Million Rounds of Ammunition Found in California Home

Friday, March 02, 2007


NORCO, Calif. — More than 1 million rounds of ammunition, a cache of weapons and a tunnel were found at a man's home after an explosive fire that forced a neighborhood evacuation, authorities said Friday.

Crews worked to fortify the tunnel, which measured 5 feet wide by 8 feet long, to ensure it was safe. It appeared to be at least 10 feet deep and led into a back yard, authorities said.

The fire Thursday afternoon at the home in Norco, about 45 miles east of Los Angeles, caused some of the ammunition to explode.

The man tried to run back into the house after firefighters arrived and had to be restrained by sheriff's deputies, Riverside County sheriff's Deputy Juan Zamora said.

After the blaze was extinguished, crews discovered metal and wooden boxes of ammunition for shotguns, small handguns and assault rifles.

On Friday, sheriff's deputies and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives combed the house for evidence.

Dozens of metal and cardboard boxes filled with ammunition for shotguns, small handguns and assault rifles sat in a driveway. Two of the assault rifles were illegal, Zamora said.

The man had no permit for 75 pounds of black gunpowder that was also recovered, Zamora said.
No arrests had been made. The man, whose identity was not released, was taken to a hospital where he will receive a psychological evaluation, Zamora said.

Last April, authorities said they found more than 1,300 weapons and 89,000 rounds of ammunition in the San Bernardino County home of a man who claimed to belong to a militant group with aims to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Robert Ferro of Upland faces counts of unlawfully owning and failing to register guns.

Prepper?
Jag

[Phil Fiord]

I saw this unfold that morning on tv. My thought was it was a rather extreme amount of ammo and weapons, but other than any restricted weapons or ammo, he was likely in his right to have them. Not that I think any person in a city has a reason for so much. One cannot carry that much if they had to leave and if they leave its there for anyone to take - not good. I'm thinking it is a stockpile for defending a single place, like a fortress. That leads thoughts to the tunnel. What was that for? An escape tunnel? A bunker?

Anyway, his neighbors praise his as a good neighbor in thsi article:
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_5346953

Blaze uncovers surprise cache of weapons, ammo

Andrea Bennett, Staff Writer San Bernardino County Sun

Article Launched:

NORCO - Residents on Pali Drive lingered in driveways and front lawns Friday afternoon as a spectacle unfolded at their neighbor's charred and roofless house. • Video: Ammo, weapons cache and tunnel found in Norco • Photo gallery 3/02: Norco house fire reveals ammo and weapons cache A fire at the house Thursday led to authorities discovering more than one million rounds of ammunition, more than 125 guns and assault rifles, and 75 pounds of ammunition powder in the garage - as well as a mysterious underground tunnel. Since then, the typically quiet, burnt sienna house had been swarming with investigators from local, state and federal agencies. Police declined to release the owners' names Friday, but a record search of the property listed it as belonging to a Thomas and Sharon McKiernan. Gary Eppler, who lives across the street, saw smoke coming from the wood-shingled roof, so he went over and pulled his sleeping neighbor from the burning house. Eppler's wife, Linda, dialed 9-1-1. "He was passed out on the couch, and I got him out of the house," said Gary Eppler, a retired psychiatric nurse. "During the fire, we heard some of the bullets go off. And we heard a small explosion." Officials evacuated about a dozen neighbors' homes around 5 p.m. Thursday as a precaution. As initial shock subsided and they were allowed to return to their homes Friday at about 1 a.m., residents had nothing but praise and support for the homeowner they know as "Tom." "He wasn't a radical type of a person. He was very nice," said Sylvia Madruga, who has lived two houses away for 35 years. "If they were really rats, I'd be the first to say so. But they weren't. ... He's never done anything to hurt me, only to help me." Madruga said he frequently looked after her late mother when she was alive and lived in the house next door to him. He helped when there was a flat tire, for instance, and he didn't hesitate to come over and chase out a lizard if it wandered into her mother's house, Madruga said. Still, some questions remain - the amount of ammo, the number of guns and the tunnel. "I always felt safe around our neighborhood because I knew he had at least a couple guns," Madruga said. "I don't know what he had in mind ... if that was a bomb shelter, an escape or for hiding something. But I don't think he wanted to blow up the neighborhood." Neighbors "Tiny" and Jennifer Bosch said the man's affinity for weapons has been blown out of proportion by authorities. "I think he was just a collector. He was a quiet, good neighbor," Tiny Bosch said. "So the guy has a million rounds of ammo. Big deal. Most of your hunters have that." Riverside County sheriff's officials said the homeowner was transported to a local mental health facility. Witnesses said he was detained after struggling with authorities in front of his house Thursday while it was ablaze. Madruga said she was just thankful her neighbor wasn't injured in the fire. "Nobody's mad at him for having all that. Everyone's just glad he's all right and he's alive," Madruga said, though she admitted her granddaughter's bedroom being right next to a garage with weapons and ammunition did cause a bit of a scare. Eppler, too, appeared to be as forgiving as the rest. "We're more scared of a drug dealer with a gun than him," he said. "He was not a scary-type person ... just a really nice neighbor with a surprise cache of ammo."

[Phil Fiord]

Ok, a little more searching and the man is arrested with 100k bail. The tunnel detail is also released. He is apparently ex army and a collector.

http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_5353020

Jailed man faces firearms offenses

Andrea Bennett, Staff Writer San Bernardino County Sun

Article Launched:03/04/2007 12:00:00 AM PST

NORCO - A resident whose house was found to have a million-plus rounds of ammunition has been arrested. Thomas McKiernan, 62, was arrested Friday afternoon on suspicion of possessing assault weapons, illegal ammunition and explosives, Riverside County sheriff's officials said. McKiernan was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside with bail set at $100,000. It was not known Saturday if McKiernan posted bail. The arrest at 12:35 p.m. came after McKiernan's release from psychiatric evaluation at Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley. McKiernan had scuffled with Norco firefighters on Thursday while they were trying to extinguish a fire at his house in the 1800 block of Pali Drive, authorities said. After the fire was put out, authorities discovered the cache of firearms, ammunition and gunpowder in the garage, along with a tunnel about 10 feet deep and more than 25 feet long under the house, officials said. Norco fire Battalion Chief Ron Kneuven said Saturday the fire is believed to have started in the attic above the kitchen area, but no exact location has been determined. More than one million rounds of ammunition, 125 handguns and rifles and about 60 pounds of gunpowder were retrieved during a multi-agency investigation. The tunnel was found to contain barrels of water, cooking oil and rice, as well as other non-perishable foods. Sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said that due to the stockpiled goods and the man-made tunnel under the house, McKiernan "appeared to be a survivalist." Many neighbors and friends of McKiernan have defended his affinity for guns and ammunition - calling him a collector and hobbyist. Residents along Pali Drive have overwhelmingly described McKiernan as a quiet and considerate neighbor who always provided help when asked, enjoyed working in the yard and cared deeply about his family. "He's ex-Army. I think they're making it bigger than it is," neighbor "Tiny" Bosch said. "He was a quiet, good neighbor, but (gun collecting) was his fetish." Bosch's wife, Jennifer, concurred. "He comes out of war with all the weapons he's comfortable with, and now it's illegal all of the sudden and he's in trouble," she said. "He's been here like 40 years." Gutierrez said the rifles and handguns were not the problem. It was the possession of five semiautomatic weapons and ammunition larger than .60-caliber, which is illegal, he said. While it is fine to have one pound of black powder, McKiernan had more than 20 pounds. More than 40 pounds of smokeless powder was found at the house. Thus McKiernan's cache surpassed the legal limit of 20 pounds, Gutierrez said. William Price, 84, of Arkansas said he has known McKiernan for decades. A war veteran like McKiernan, Price said his friend was being unfairly persecuted. "I knew he used to shoot a lot at the range, and he'd reload his own," said Price, who fought in World War II. "He was a collector. I guess he collected too much. "When people are in the war, they get a little messed up. ... They drill it into you so much - you've always got to be protected." Sheriff's officials have said the amount of ammunition retrieved from the house was likely the largest in Riverside County. The city of Norco released the house, roofless and unstable in its foundation due to the tunnel, back into the control of McKiernan's family members. Kneuven said the house may be demolished and rebuilt, as its current condition has been determined unsafe and unlivable.

[Ryan Ruck]

Norco Man With Cache Of Guns, Ammo In House Freed From Jail

Norco resident Thomas Lee McKiernan regained his freedom Tuesday, but he's lost a lot in the last two months.

McKiernan, a retired machinist, Vietnam veteran and former Army captain, made national headlines in March when his home caught fire, exposing a cache of more than a hundred guns, a million rounds of ammunition and more than 185 pounds of gun powder.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, he tussled with them in an effort to get back into his burning home even as live rounds exploded in the blaze. When the flames were doused, Riverside County sheriff's officials discovered a 70-foot long tunnel beneath his house filled with food and water for long-term survival.

The fire, the water damage and the tunnel made his house uninhabitable.

McKiernan moved into the Robert Presley Detention Center, an unwitting emblem of embattled gun rights for some and a symbol of survivalist extremism for others.

But in the end, McKiernan was just a local man who accidentally ran afoul of the law, said Deputy District Attorney Michael Mayman.

On Tuesday, Riverside Superior Court Judge Janice M. McIntyre sentenced him to 80 days of time already served. He will also have to serve three years probation, undergo psychiatric evaluation and forever give up his gun collection.

McKiernan faced as much as five years in prison, but the more lenient sentence was part of a plea arrangement that reflects his efforts to comply with the law and his lack of criminal history, said Mayman.

Most of McKiernan 's guns were collected over decades, and they include collector's pieces such as pre-World War II guns. His illegal assault rifles were bought before they were outlawed in 2000, indicating that McKiernan was at least trying to be a law-abiding collector, Mayman said.

"People are particularly sensitive about this issue," said Mayman, who received dozens of calls from gun enthusiasts. "This was really more of an explosives case than a gun-rights issue."

The problem, said Mayman, is that McKiernan 's stockpile of gunpowder was a threat to the community. He had more than 185 pounds of gunpowder -- dozens of times the legal limit.

One positive outcome of the case is that many people are trying to learn from McKiernan's mistakes by making sure their gun collections are legal and that they have the proper permits if they store large quantities of gunpowder, Mayman said. "It's important for us to enforce our gun laws," Mayman said, adding that is particularly true in light of the Virginia Tech massacre.

On Tuesday morning, McKiernan waited for hours with dozens of other shackled inmates in the Riverside courthouse. Gray-haired and wearing an orange jumpsuit, the 62-year-old kept to himself and declined to make a statement to the court before his sentencing.

He's a quiet but pleasant man, explained his attorney, Michael K. Cernyar. Despite his jail time, he has faired well with support from family and neighbors in the community, Cernyar said.

Even though his neighbors had to be evacuated due to the explosives, many in the community came out in support of McKiernan, who lived in the now-condemned home for 32 years.

In the end, McKiernan got a fair deal, Cernyar concluded.

"I think it was fair, and I think gun lovers would think it was fair," he said. "People still have the right to bear arms."

Yeah, those "illegal assault rifle" laws are real fair.