Dozens of illegal guns seized in raid on commodities trader's home in Lake Forest

[rdenney]

Dozens of illegal guns seized in raid on commodities trader's home in Lake Forest

By David Heinzmann and Susan Kuczka

Tribune reporters

May 8, 2008

Federal agents and Illinois State Police raided the multimillion-dollar Lake Forest home of a commodities trader Thursday morning to seize at least 85 illegal guns, law enforcement sources said.

The homeowner, Benjamin Stevens, 49, was arrested and charged with multiple felony counts of possessing a firearm with a revoked Firearm Owner Identification card, Lake County prosecutors said. Stevens' card was revoked in 2002 after a domestic battery arrest, a law enforcement source said.

Authorities will test two .50-caliber machine guns seized in the raid to determine whether they were capable of firing in fully automatic mode, which would lead to more serious federal charges, said ATF Special Agent Donald Sorrano.

Police and agents also recovered more than 50,000 rounds of ammunition from the home, Sorrano said. If the ammunition turns out to be armor-piercing, that too would be a federal crime, he said.

ATF agents and state police raided Stevens' 5,000-square-foot house in the 1900 block of Telegraph Road late in the morning. The home, which has a six-car garage and sits on 2 acres, is worth more than $2 million, public records show.


More at:

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-lake-forest-raid-webmay9,0,5093789.story

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

1. Interesting

So he was arrested 5 years ago and never convicted but they still took away his license. Which meant that he needed to turn over his guns I guess? Since the article is so poorly written that's what we have to do is guess. So now if his .50 cal are automatic he broke a federal law and if his ammo was armor piercing he broke another federal law. We are supposed to rest assured that when you'll want a licensing requirement on gun owners that it wont ever be used to grab peoples guns. Then you post stories like this. I think we should wait and see what if anything this man is convicted of before we get around to lynching him.


David

[rdenney]

2. Whose lynching him? He will get his day in court. He knew he was breaking the law...

..so whats your beef?

The article was written well enough that I a non gun-owner understood what the charges, were so the gun owner must have understood that if he were caught he would be in big trouble with the law.

What the hell does anyone need with armor piercing ammo anyhow?

Do they make deer and ducks out of steel these days ? :eyes:

[Tejas]

3. still some ridiculous laws on the books

"What the hell does anyone need with armor piercing ammo anyhow?

Do they make deer and ducks out of steel these days ?"


Why do you need a car that will exceed 70mph?


answer: emergencies


It appears you haven't kept up with the times, criminals wear body armor during commission of home invasions, kidnappings, armed robberies etc.

By the way, there's hardly any centerfire ammo out there that isn't "armor-piercing".

[SteveM]

7. Actually, the average deer rifle round will pierce body armor...

Ironically, duck (and all waterfowl hunting) requires the use of very hard (steel, tungsten) metal in place of the toxic lead (all 50 states). As for deer, "armor-piercing" rounds (usually called FMJ or full metal jacket) are specifically NOT recommended for deer as they pass through the animal without delivering much of the foot-pounds of shock inherent in a deer round. Result? The deer runs for a considerable distance before dying, making recovery of the animal less likely. Also, these rounds tend to bounce instead of fragmenting into soft (lead) components. FMJ IS "sanctioned" in combat, but not the average lead/expanding deer round; he latter being more likely to kill another outright; the former more likely to injure and be stopped by body armor.

BTW, contrary to gun-control propaganda, the average round used by combatant small arms does NOT readily penetrate body armor because AK-47/M-16 rifles are of moderate power and use rather small caliber ammo.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

8. So the article said he had armor piercing ammo?

Everyone understands what the charges are. You can indict a ham sandwich. The article was scant on actual facts.

David

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

9. Another point the article says Dozens of illegal guns seized.

What made the guns illegal? They never say. If it was the fact that he license had been revoked, then the guns weren't illegal his possession of them was. It's just crappy journalism. That's my only problem.

David

[Tejas]

4. note on AP ammo

No federal law against possession of armor-piercing ammo by private citizens except that one may not import it or make it. The state of Illinois does have its own laws concerning AP ammo though.

[iverglas]

12. wha'???

We are supposed to rest assured that when you'll want a licensing requirement on gun owners that it wont ever be used to grab peoples guns.

Uh, licensing (or, more practically, registration) should be used PRECISELY to grab the guns of people like this -- people who are DISQUALFIED FROM POSSESSING THEM.

What do you imagine it's for???

Lawdy bleedin jayzus. You make less sense by the day.

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/lakeforest/news/950629,lf-guns-051508-s1.article

State police were tipped off to the cache of weapons when they learned that someone who lived in the home had a revoked Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card, Lake Forest Police Chief Joe Buerger said.

"They also had information that a person who lived there still had guns in the house," Buerger said.

... Lake Forest police have arrested the suspect in the past two months on a domestic battery charge, Buerger said. That arrest led to the revocation of his FOID card, officials said.

"His FOID card was revoked by Illinois State Police. The state received information he still had many guns in house even though his FOID card was revoked. That's when they started the investigation," Buerger said.

This appears to be the LAW. Get arrested on a "domestic battery charge", LOSE YOUR FIREARMS LICENCE. Apparently it isn't taken particularly seriously, since two months later he still had quite an arsenal of firearms.

But it's THE LAW. And he broke it.

http://www.wbbm780.com/pages/2160064.php?

A north suburban man charged with illegally possessing 85 weapons -- including at least one .50-caliber machine gun -- is a collector who acquired the firearms legally, his attorney said Friday.

... His attorney contended Stevens was a gun enthusiast who had an interest in historic firearms, which he had obtained legally when he had a valid FOID card.

... Prosecutor Kristen Robinson said the weapons seized included a military-issue .50-caliber machine gun capable of being mounted on a vehicle, a .50-caliber sniper rifle, an Uzi submachine gun, a .30-caliber rifle, as well as 50,000 rounds of ammunition -- some of it capable of cutting through steel armor.

... Stevens' FOID card was revoked for reasons of his mental health, Robinson said, without elaborating.

You know NOTHING about this man. You know NOTHING about the circumstances in which he was arrested or his licence revoked. All you do know is that he BROKE THE LAW. You apparently don't even know what facts of the case ARE publicly available.

And yet here you are, pissing and moaning about this poor victim of the nanny state run amuck.


Does no one here ever tire of making him/herself look like a complete idiot? a defender of law-breakers? you know, CRIMINALS?


Oh, btw. Doesn't anyone feel kinda silly defending one of those élite rich people who seems to be getting treated like any old pleb here?

[rdenney]

13. Good points !! Its my contention that most gun owners are law-breakers when it comes to ............

deciding which laws they are going to break, particularly when its a gun control law.

This case is a perfect example of the "so what"? attitude that seems prevalent
with most gunners.

The law is the law. No exceptions!!

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

17. Do you have one tiny shred of proof of this?

This is akin to my saying that my contention is that most people with screen names that end in denney are pedophiles. Who needs proof when baseless accusation will do just fine.

David

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

15. You're are right.

You know NOTHING about this man. You know NOTHING about the circumstances in which he was arrested or his licence revoked. All you do know is that he BROKE THE LAW. You apparently don't even know what facts of the case ARE publicly available.


And neither do you or rdummy. I though presume that people are innocent until proven guilty. My complaint was not about the suspect it was about crappy journalism which if you had bothered to read my post you would have known.

David

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

16. and no you never seem to tire of it.

[Indy Lurker]

5. There should have been a conviction

There should have been a conviction if his FOID card was revoked.

(430 ILCS 65/0.01) (from Ch. 38, par. 83‑0.1)
Sec. 0.01. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act.
(Source: P.A. 86‑1324.)

(viii) He or she has not been convicted within the past 5 years of battery, assault, aggravated assault, violation of an order of protection, or a substantially similar offense in another jurisdiction, in which a firearm was used or possessed;

(ix) He or she has not been convicted of domestic battery or a substantially similar offense in another jurisdiction committed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997;

(x) He or she has not been convicted within the past 5 years of domestic battery or a substantially similar offense in another jurisdiction committed before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997;



AS FAR AS ARMOR PIERCING GOES

(720 ILCS 5/24‑2.1) (from Ch. 38, par. 24‑2.1)
Sec. 24‑2.1. Unlawful use of firearm projectiles.
(a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of firearm projectiles when he or she knowingly manufactures, sells, purchases, possesses, or carries any armor piercing bullet, dragon's breath shotgun shell, bolo shell, or flechette shell.


(d) Sentence. A person convicted of unlawful use of armor piercing bullets shall be guilty of a Class 3 felony.
(Source: P.A. 92‑423, eff. 1‑1‑02.)


For the purposes of this Section:
"Armor piercing bullet" means any handgun bullet or handgun ammunition with projectiles or projectile cores constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper or depleted uranium, or fully jacketed bullets larger than 22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25% of the total weight of the projectile, and excluding those handgun projectiles whose cores are composed of soft materials such as lead or lead alloys, zinc or zinc alloys, frangible projectiles designed primarily for sporting purposes, and any other projectiles or projectile cores that the U. S. Secretary of the Treasury finds to be primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes or industrial purposes or that otherwise does not constitute "armor piercing ammunition" as that term is defined by federal law.
The definition contained herein shall not be construed to include shotgun shells.

[Indy Lurker]

6. What is handgun ammunition?

Who writes these laws?

Is this Handgun Ammunition?







Caliber: 7.90 mm .311
Invented: made in 1992
Lifespan:
Weight: 125 grain
Energy: 2365 fps 1552 ft. lbs approx

Average Price:
Manufacturer: China
Effective Range:
Max Range:



Or do you have to own one of these to make it handgun ammo?

[enfield collector]

10. well since the OA-93 shown is chambered for 5.56 it wouldn't work

however the BS atf definition is if there is 1 example of a handgun in the caliber then it's handgun ammo

[Indy Lurker]

11. thanks for the clarification

[iverglas]

14. and yet it seems to have happened

Perhaps:

http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=2096

What are the Federal Laws Regarding Guns and Domestic Violence?

Under the Federal Violence Against Women Act, once the abuser has been served with an Order of Protection it is a federal crime for the abuser to possess any firearm or ammunition. ...

What are the Illinois Laws Regarding Guns and Domestic Violence?

In Illinois, a person must have a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card (FOID) card to legally possess or buy a gun or ammunition. Under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, a domestic violence victim can request that the abuser not be allowed to carry a firearm. If an Order of Protection is in existence, the Illinois State Police can deny or revoke an abuser's FOID card. If the Order of Protection has expired, an abuser can legally have and buy guns.

Since:

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/lakeforest/news/950629,lf-guns-051508-s1.article

State police, assisted by federal agents, waited for Stevens to leave the house. "They picked him up and executed the search warrant," Buerger said.

Lake Forest police have arrested the suspect in the past two months on a domestic battery charge, Buerger said. That arrest led to the revocation of his FOID card, officials said.

"His FOID card was revoked by Illinois State Police. ..."

that could have been the case -- an order of protection, which (a) made his possession of firearms a federal offence, and (b) resulted in revocation of his state authorization to possess firearms. Just a surmise.

[Indy Lurker]

18. yes, I was unclear

Your correct.

What I was trying to say is that if he had his FOID card revoked there must have been more than just an arrest, such as an order of protection being filed.