IN native James Wesley Howell pleaded not guilty to charges of felony weapons violations after California authorities found him with three assault rifles and explosive chemicals in his vehicle ahead of a major gay pride parade.
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If convicted as charged, Howell faces up to nine years and eight months behind bars.
On Tuesday, Howell was charged with felony possession of an assault weapon, possession of explosives on a public highway, and possession of high-capacity magazines.
In addition to the three felonies, he also faces a misdemeanor for the possession of a firearm in a auto.
Prosecutors asked that Howell be held on $2 million (1.78 million euro) bail.
When he was picked up in Santa Monica, there was an assault rifle in his car’s passenger seat and 15 pounds of “Shoc-Shot”, two chemicals that explode when mixed and shot. Rounds were loaded in the chamber. He also had a loaded, .30-06-caliber bolt-action rifle and a.22-caliber Ruger semi-automatic rifle, according to the document.
Police reported Sunday that he was found with three assault rifles and materials to create a pipe bomb.
A black hood, a stun gun and handcuffs were also found in the auto.
Howell was arrested around 5 a.m. Sunday in the 1700 block of 11th Street, near Olympic Boulevard – hours after the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, left 49 people and the gunman dead.
Santa Monica Police took the IN man into custody after he was allegedly knocking on a resident’s door and windows. Howell told police he was looking for a friend to attend the LA Pride festival in West Hollywood, Tyler said.
Howell was arrested by Santa Monica police on suspicion of possessing an explosive device, possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle and possessing high-capacity magazines.
What he was doing with the chemicals remained unknown.
Leone described the items in court records as part of his request that a judge increase bail for 20-year-old James Wesley Howell. “I would have never have thought he would go out there to do something like that, but you just can’t never tell with some people”, he said.
“Target enthusiasts don’t mix these substances until they are ready to use them”, said Carney.
Leone also said Howell has no ties to California and is a flight risk and “danger to the community”.
The officer reported that Howell told police in Los Angeles that he left in over concerns about existing or pending criminal charges he faces in that state. The case, however, remained at the local level. He was on probation in IN for his other charges, Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull says he now thinks his probation should be jail time. In 2015, he was charged with intimidation and pointing a firearm at someone.
He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment at the Airport Branch Courthouse, and he is due back in court June 29. He was placed on probation for a year. The first incident involved Howell’s then-boyfriend and the second a neighbor.
Grace Logsdon, Howell’s former roommate, said Howell owned five guns and liked to spend time at a shooting range. But he said he doesn’t know what Howell’s intentions were in California.
CHARLESTOWN, Ind. (AP) – An Indiana man arrested in California over the weekend with three assault rifles had been ordered by a judge in April to give up all his guns, but authorities in his home state said Monday they had not made any surprise checks to confirm he was following the probation requirement. The boy said Howell had threatened him and his coworkers in past.
Prosecutors believe the weapons were bought by Howell’s father.
Schwartz said each of the items in Howells auto individually might be legal to possess, but collectively they appeared to pose a danger, especially the chemicals mixed together.
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Hes gone, the judge said.
