Three in custody on weapons charges after feds raid homes

[WhiteFeather]

What is the other side of this story anyone know?

http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/...-Weapons-Raids

Three in custody on weapons charges after feds raid homes
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH - Federal agents raided at least two homes and took three Western Pennsylvania men into custody - one of them as he left church - after seizing an unknown number of weapons.

Prosecutors were seeking to keep the defendants jailed until trial, but would not say why. Indictments returned last week remained under seal.

Morgan Jones, of Lucinda, Marvin E. Hall, of Rimersberg, and Perry Landis, whose address was not immediately available, appeared before a federal magistrate on Monday and remained jailed until a detention hearing Wednesday. A fourth man was set to appear before a federal magistrate in Johnstown, but prosecutors would not release his name.

Special Agent William Crowley, spokesman for the Pittsburgh FBI office, would not say what was seized during searches at Jones' and Hall's properties. But Jones' wife and Hall's girlfriend told The Associated Press that guns were taken from both locations during Sunday's raids.

Neighbors saw a plane, bomb squads and dogs on Morgan Jones' property in Clarion County on Sunday, The Derrick of Oil City reported.

At the detention hearing, prosecutors must present arguments and evidence about why the men should stay in jail until they stand trial. By law, the government must prove the men are dangerous, a risk to flee prosecution, or both; prosecutors did not say why they planned to seek detention.

Hall's girlfriend, Melissa Huet, 34, also was indicted but was not in custody Monday. She told The Associated Press that Hall is 50. The other men appeared to be older than Hall.

"They're a bunch of old men who sit around and talk and don't do anything," Huet said, when asked what she knew about the charges before the hearing. She said an informant has given the government information about the men.

Jones' wife, Donna, said her husband is a gun collector, not a criminal.

"I think the charges are going to be exaggerated," she said, accusing federal agents of overkill for arresting her husband as he came out of church.

"I believe going and taking him at church is nothing but showboating," she said. "All they had to do was knock on our door."

U.S. Magistrate Amy Reynolds Hay told Hall he is accused of possession of a firearm by a felon and transfer of an unregistered firearm, both on Jan. 11.

Hall pleaded guilty in Pittsburgh to possessing unregistered firearms in November 1998 and was sentenced to 27 months in prison, according to federal court records.

Hay read the charges against each man in court, but indictments returned last week remained under seal Monday afternoon, so details of the accusations were not immediately available.

The magistrate told Jones he is charged with selling a firearm to someone in another state while Landis faces two charges of transferring unregistered firearms, once in September and again in March.

All men were to receive federal public defenders after the magistrate determined they could not afford attorneys.

Donna Jones said she was staying with her daughter because federal agents still were searching her property on Monday. Morgan Jones told the judge he operates a muffler shop, garage and junk yard.

Copyright Observer Publishing Co.

[knight0334]

There is more than just 3 arrests.

A couple of the arrests are somewhat local to me. One arrest was in the village of Sabula and another in Troutville. All related to the Clarion area arrests..

Rumors locally are of NFA weapons, some unlawful interstate transfers(straight to receiving persons), and felony possession.

Apparently an "informant" gave the Fedz info on some questionable activities. Its possible the NFA stuff is nothing more than legal semi-auto gear and the informant was mistaken.

Too soon to tell with the provided info and local rumors.

[sjl127]

Huh???

[pex]

Hall pleaded guilty in Pittsburgh to possessing unregistered firearms in November 1998 and was sentenced to 27 months in prison, according to federal court records.

GOOD LORD, UNREGISTERED FIREARMS? LOCK THAT FUCKER UP, CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, MAY HE BURN IN HELL!

[sjl127]

These aren't the fucking people the feds should be chasing...

http://kdka.com/local/domestic.terro....2.744322.html

[knight0334]

Originally Posted by pex

GOOD LORD, UNREGISTERED FIREARMS? LOCK THAT FUCKER UP, CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, MAY HE BURN IN HELL!

d00d.. chill...

To NFA law, handguns and long guns aren't "firearms" and dont require registration. His offense back then was with "firearms"(MG's SBS SBR, AOW, etc) - which require registration.


====

On a side note - One of the raids was due to bombs being placed roadside in the area.

[WhiteFeather]

Found this story to fill in some of the blanks.

Note the statement that someone can not own firearms and live in same house with a felon.

They should deploy this Federal task force to Philly if that is the case, lots of dangerous felon's have firearms that use them in real crimes that hurt people.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/...ombmaker061108

Feds: Alleged Pa. bomb-maker wanted Clinton, Obama dead

PITTSBURGH (AP) _ A Clearfield County man arrested in a sweep by a terrorism task force in Pennsylvania had weapons, ammunition and several homemade bombs, federal authorities said Tuesday.

Bradley T. Kahle, 60, of Troutville, was one of five people arrested in last weekend's sweep. He told undercover agents he hoped Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama would be killed if they were elected president, and that he would shoot judicial and law enforcement officials if he became terminally ill, according to an affidavit of probable cause made public Tuesday.

"Kahle said words to the effect of, that 'if Hillary Clinton, or Barack Obama, get elected, hopefully they will get assassinated, if not they will disarm the country and we will have a civil war,'" the affidavit stated.

Kahle made the statement in April, when he also showed two undercover officers several firearms, including a sniper rifle, two AK-47 assault rifles, and about 5,000 rounds of ammunition, according to the affidavit.

Agents on Sunday found 16 homemade bombs during a search of Kahle's home, about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, authorities said.


Kahle was charged Tuesday with unlawfully possessing firearms, namely improvised explosive devices. A detention hearing is scheduled Wednesday in Johnstown.

Other suspects arrested in the task force sweep face allegations they trafficked in blasting caps, illegally possessed weapons and transferred exploding golf balls.

The charges were detailed in federal grand jury indictments unsealed Tuesday in Pittsburgh, where a federal magistrate will be asked at a hearing Wednesday to keep three of the four suspects in jail until they can stand trial.

Marvin E. Hall, 49, of Rimersburg, and his live-in girlfriend, Melissa Huet, 34, are charged in a three count indictment. Authorities contend Hall transferred two exploding golf balls to an unnamed person in January, without a firearms license.

He is also accused of illegally possessing a 12-gauge shotgun and an SKS assault rifle; it is illegal for Hall to possess guns because he has a 1999 federal weapons conviction. Huet is accused of helping him possess the weapons in violation of the law.

Hall remains in custody, but Huet, who will appear before a federal magistrate on June 26, told The Associated Press that she owns the guns and has sales receipts in her name. After the Pittsburgh Joint Terrorism Task Force raided the couple's home Sunday, she said, federal agents told her she couldn't possess the guns because she was living with a felon.

"Nobody ever told me that before," Huet said.

Hall's former neighbor, Morgan A. Jones, 64, of Lucinda, is charged with illegally transferring a Romanian AK-47 assault rifle to someone who lives out of state in February; Jones was arrested as he left church over the weekend.

Perry E. Landis, 61, of DuBois, is charged with illegally transferring blasting caps in September and March.

Jones and Landis are represented by the Federal Public Defender's Office in Pittsburgh, which has a blanket policy of not commenting on cases.

Hall, Jones and Landis are scheduled for detention hearing Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Amy Reynolds Hay.

Prosecutors plan to present evidence that the men are dangerous or likely to flee prosecution in hopes Reynolds will keep them jailed until trial.

Prosecutors have refused to say why they want the men detained or why the cases were investigated by the terrorism task force.

[kevindsingleton]

Exploding golf balls? Really?

I feel much safer, now that these dangerous criminals are in custody. I'll be able to golf without fear ...if I ever golf.

I expect the feds were hoping for something more dramatic than exploding golf balls.

[manyplews]

Yes,if the Feds want to do something about terrorism,they better concentrate on the home boys in Pittsburgh's Hill District and the Homewood-Brushton area. They kill several people every day and many illegal firearms violations could be charged.
Saw where Kahle had 5000 rounds of ammo!!! Big Deal !!!
How many rounds do you think most rimfire competition shooters usually stock when they find a good lot of Eley,Lapua,or Wolfe?
Hey,if these Homeland Security task forces don't make arrests occasionally,they might get a pink slip.
Wonder who the local informer was who sicced the Feds on these old farts who liked to sit around and brag? Probably some SOB who was up on drug and/or other charges and wanted to make a deal.
Ron

[WhiteFeather]

From sjl127 post

Was this REALLY the best place in all of PA for the FEDS to spent 3 years of valuable undercover agent's time?


Wonder what the total dollar value it cost the tax payers to catch all of these people?

FBI: Suspects Had Cache Of Weapons
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Federal authorities have four people in custody accused of plotting terrorist attacks.

Marvin Hall of Rimersburg, Perry Landis of the Clarion area, Morgan Jones of Lucinda, as well as Melissa Huet are in custody.

Investigators say they were stockpiling a cache of weapons with plans to target local government buildings.

The FBI, in raids over the weekend, confiscated hundreds of weapons - including everything from hunting rifles, homemade bombs, rudimentary rockets and cannons.

Sources tell KDKA's Marty Griffin the suspects made threats to blow up government buildings and carry out other extreme acts of domestic terrorism.

The four suspects are facing numerous federal firearms charges, including illegal sales, manufacture and transport.

Included in the federal indictment is a listing of some of the confiscated weapons, including "exploding blasting caps," a Romanian AK 4 assault rifle and "destructive devises including two exploding golf balls."

Aside from the indictments, federal authorities will release no further information at this time

Sources tell Griffin the investigation took three years and included taped conversations and FBI undercover agents inside the operation.

Sources also say federal agents conducted extensive raids on what are being called compounds over the last two days in the Clarion area.