Posted: 11/19/2002 12:37:29 PM EDT
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Seizure said to be one of city's biggest ever By MELISSA PINION-WHITT, Staff Writer FONTANA - Officers called the seizure of 40 guns, four drug labs and 20,000 rounds of ammunition one of the largest busts the Police Department has encountered in decades. The cache of guns and rifles, 10 pounds of methamphetamine and other illegal items seized Sunday were displayed by the department's Multiple Enforcement Team on Monday. Police said they've had other large seizures of weapons in the Police Department's history, but none that also involved such a large amount of methamphetamine. "This is very serious,' said police Chief Frank Scialdone. "When you have that many guns and you have that much methamphetamine, that's a whole different ballgame. People can't control their actions when they're using methamphetamine. That's a deadly combination.' Scialdone, who has been with the department 30 years, said another large gun raid he could recall occurred back in the 1970s. In that incident, officers encountered a large cache of weapons while busting a Los Angeles militia group that was congregating in Fontana. Twenty people were arrested in that raid, Scialdone said. Two men were arrested after Sunday's early-morning raids of a Tamarind Avenue home and at LK Mini Storage nearby. Andy Valadez, 23, and William Beauchamp, 29, who live in the 8500 block Tamarind Avenue home, were booked into West Valley Detention Center on suspicion of possessing meth for sale, manufacturing meth and numerous gun violations. The men may face additional charges because they are suspected of manufacturing drugs across from South Tamarind Elementary School, police said. Officers learned about the meth manufacturing operation and the gun sales through an anonymous tip they received, said police Cpl. Obie Rodriguez. "We were given a gang moniker for a guy,' Rodriguez said. "We didn't have a real name. (The caller) described the street he was living on and said he was selling guns and drugs to gang members.' The caller also mentioned that guns were being stored in storage units, police said. Undercover officers conducted stakeouts near the residence and raided the home at 1 a.m. Sunday. There, they found a methamphetamine lab capable of making 10-pound batches of the drug, Rodriguez said. Ten pounds of the drug were discovered in the home along with two handguns. Police also searched a storage center at 8150 Tamarind Ave., where they found components of three additional meth labs which had been boxed up. More than 20,000 rounds of ammunition were found and seized. Twenty-one handguns and 17 rifles, including AK-47s, sawed-off shotguns, one high-grade bulletproof vest, and military-style rifles were found in three storage units, Rodriguez said. Twelve of the weapons seized were discovered to be stolen. Police are still trying to identify where the other guns came from, Weissmann said. "We're assuming most of these came from burglaries,'' he said. |
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"This is very serious,' said police Chief Frank Scialdone. "When you have that many guns and you have that much methamphetamine, that's a whole different ballgame. People can't control their actions when they're using methamphetamine. That's a deadly combination.' Heheheh, like they were in the business of getting high and shooting guns. [rolleyes] |
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Quoted: I see Fontana hasn't changed since I left SoCal in 1980. Nope. A few years ago we had a Semi-Trailer get jacked. The driver was stripped naked at gunpoint and left to walk along the road. The trailer was what the robber wanted. It's amazing the lengths people will go for 60 pallets of Cheerios. |
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Quoted: said police Cpl. Obie Rodriguez. What was Officer Obie doing away from the Police Officer's Station? Probably taking 8X10 glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was. To used as evidence against them in the court of law.... |
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What was Officer Obie doing away from the Police Officer's Station? Probably taking 8X10 glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was To used as evidence against them in the court of law.... the judge walked in sat down with a seeing eye dog, and he sat down, we sat down. Obie looked at the seeing eye dog... and began to cry, 'cause Obie came to the realization that it was a typical case of American blind justice, and there wasn't nothing he could do about it.... I can't believe there are so many people on here that know the words to one of America's great anti-war/protest songs - me included. |
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Law Enforcement is SO GOOD these days. I'm so glad they got all those guns off the street. And the DRUGS! I sure hope they bring the drugs and the guns to court and sentence every one of them to death. And the 12 guns that were stolen ought to be destroyed too. Guns are products of their environment, and we all know hanging out with drugs will corrupt even the strongest of alloys. |
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