Howell made a statement indicating he was on his way to the Gay Pride festival in West Hollywood, police said. The arrest came hours after a gunman killed 49 people and injured 53 others at a gay Orlando nightclub.
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James Howell, 20, was charged with one count each of unlawful possession of an assault weapon, possession of a destructive device on a public street and manufacturing or importing a large magazine and one misdemeanor count of carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle, the D.A.’s office said.
A spokesman for the Santa Monica Police Department said Howell told officers on the scene that he was headed to the Los Angeles gay pride parade in West Hollywood but did not state that he planned to do harm there.
A resident called police with a report of a man knocking on the resident’s door and window, the district attorney’s office said.
Police said Howell admitted to officers that he fled IN “due to his concerns” over pending criminal charges, according to Leone’s statement IN court records. That rifle was found loaded with a 30-round detachable magazine, along with a second 30-round magazine “taped to the first and inverted”, said police in the statement. Joseph Greeson, 18, a friend of Howell’s and a fellow auto club member, said Howell didn’t harbor any ill will toward gays or lesbians and that he is bisexual, The Times reported.
James Howell is seen during his arraignment in Del Aire on June 14, 2016.
“The bucket was next to the assault rifle which, if shot, could have detonated the explosive”, Carney said. The bail deviation document showed Howell was also found inside his auto with a black hoodie, a taser, handcuffs, a buck knife, a security badge, and extra ammunition for the rifles.
According to the L.A. Times, Howell was stopped by police on Sunday morning at approximately 5:00 a.m. He also noted that Howell had apparently violated a probation requirement from IN that he surrender all weapons.
A restraining order against him in IN prohibited him from possessing firearms, the report states.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials say they’re assisting with the investigation and there is no immediate threat.
Rodriguez said authorities still did not know Howell’s intents and motivations. The judge raised his bail from $500,000 to $2 million at the request of a bail deviation from the district attorney’s office, which called him a “danger to the community” in a court document. He was also charged with having a loaded weapon in a vehicle, a misdemeanor charge.
Howell was ordered to return to court on June 29.
Now, an IN man is being investigated for a sexual assault near his home. Television stations in Louisville, Kentucky, reported that Howell’s parents home in Jeffersonville, Indiana, was searched.
Howells attorney, Deputy Public Defender Pam Jones, said the Shoc-Shot is something commercially available for detonation and is commonly used by gun enthusiasts out in the open.
During Howell’s arraignment Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz labeled him a potential danger to the community by driving a auto filled with explosives. Although he was sentenced to a year in state prison, Howell’s sentence was suspended because he agreed to forfeit all weapons at his disposal. The boy said Howell had threatened him and his coworkers in past.
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The Clark County Sheriff’s Office in the state of in stated he is the suspect of an alleged assault from last month. The office said it was cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
