Detectives were shocked to discover more than 1,200 firearms inside an upscale Pacific Palisades home after responding to a report of a dead body inside a car parked outside the house, according to LAPD on Monday.
Police were first notified about the death of an adult male inside a parked vehicle around 5:00 P.M on July 17. When the elite Robbery-Homicide Division took over the case after getting a search warrant for the victim’s residence, they came across the massive stash of weapons and ammo.
In fact an LAPD bomb squad was dispatched to ensure that it was safe to proceed with the search of the premises because of the massive amount of weapons and ammo found. The firearms included handguns, shotguns and rifles. Los Angeles Police Department Commander Andrew Smith termed the number of firearms found as staggering.
“Our truck couldn’t carry it all. We had to go back and make another trip.” Smith commented.
Most of the guns have been never fired before and some were still wrapped in boxes with price tags still attached.
According to the latest update, there has been no indication of any foul play yet and the victim was not involved in any criminal activity.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Smith said. “Running the background, history and legality of these weapons is going to require a tremendous amount of time,” said Smith.
The investigators are being assisted by the LAPD Detective Bureau’s gun detail to examine and determine the origin and legality of the weapons. “It’s not a crime to have a large number of weapons so long as they were legal to own and legally obtained,” Smith said. “We want to make sure that’s the case.”
All surrounding homes were ordered to be evacuated for nearly 12 hours on Saturday, when the search was being conducted.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Robbery-Homicide Division at 213-486-6890.
For those who do not want to reveal their identity can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 and leave a helpful tip.
Steve Smith
