It was revealed on Tuesday, June 14, that in Indiana a man, James Wesley Howell, aged 20, was traveling with a large quantity of weapons and explosives. He was arrested early on Sunday in Santa Monica, and in his possession were loaded assault rifles with magazine set to allow sixty rounds to be fired in succession, 15 pounds of chemicals which were mixed and ready, more ammunition, stun gun, buck knife, and along with that a security badge. He stated to the police that he was going to the gay pride event that was happening.
Howell was from Charleston, Indiana and he recently drove to Los Angeles due to the fact that he already had pending charges against him there. When friends were asked to describe him they stated that he was a gun enthusiast and had a short temper.
He was accused back in October for drawing a gun and threatening individuals with it, which include his then-boyfriend and a neighbor. With the incident with his neighbor, in April, he was convicted of a misdemeanor intimidation, for which he was put on probation and not allowed to be in possession of any weapons or leave Indiana. The on Tuesday, the sheriff’s office in Clark County, Indiana, stated that Howell is also the subject of a sexual assault investigation.
However, he broke both of these rules. Police picked him up in Santa Monica and there on his passenger seat was an assault rifle, which was loaded with thirty round magazine and another inverted one was taped onto it. According to James Wedick, a former FBI agent, this placement would have allowed him to reload in less than two seconds, suggesting that “his purposes are deadly.” Along with that, he was in possession of fifteen pounds of “Shoc-Shot.” These are two chemicals when put together create an explosion. The Deputy District Attorney Sean Carnet stated that gun enthusiasts do not mix this until it is time to be used, which is a required by federal regulations. Also adding that the amount he was carrying “far exceeds any amount that would reasonably be used.”
He made his first court appearance on Tuesday and pleaded to being not guilty for the three felony charges. There was a bail set at $2 million by the judge. The authorities have not released any information confirming that Howell intended to commit an act of violence at the Pride event in LA, where there were hundreds and thousands of people gathered. His attorney also stated that there was a lack of evidence which demonstrated that Howell planned any crime. Also adding that the black hood was only a “clothing item,” and the garment was not intended to be used as a mask, which is what authorities believed.
The Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz stated that alone each item found in his car may not directly imply that he was going to do anything threatening, however, everything together just does not really make any sense. He said that “I cannot in good conscience think of any reasonable reason that somebody would be traveling across the country with all of these things.”
The FBI has gone into investigations inquiry is continuing. His home was also examined on Monday, however, no details have been released. Rebecca Lonergan, a former federal prosecutor who teaches national security law at the University of Southern California, said that “In the atmosphere we have where there is such great concern about active shooters, about terrorism, about hate crimes, both the state and federal investigators are going to want to thoroughly look at this guy.”
Let us continue to see where this investigation goes and if yet again this incident is turned into being just a man who had lost his senses.
