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Man pleads guilty to illegal cache of weapons

Bill Starks

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Nortonville, KY, USA
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Man pleads guilty to illegal cache of weapons Arsenal, including explosives, found in Bellevue storage unit By PAUL SHUKOVSKY
P-I REPORTER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/403337_grenade13.html?source=rss

A 65-year-old Spokane man pleaded guilty Thursday to having an arsenal of illegal military weapons and explosives in a Bellevue storage unit.
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested Ronald Struve in January after his cache of weapons -- which included dozens of machine guns and blocks of C-4 plastic explosives -- was discovered by a man who bought at auction the contents of the storage unit at 12863 Northup Way after the unit's rent went unpaid, according to a criminal complaint.
ATF agents received a call from the winning bidder at the auction in November, who explained that there were firearms among the items he had bought "and that he wanted ATF to examine the firearms to determine whether they were legal to possess."
Over the next two days, agents found crates of firearms, munitions and high explosives, including 54 40 mm M406 grenades, the complaint says. They also found silencers, flares, CS gas grenades, 41 pounds of gunpowder and blasting caps.
Agents tracked Struve to Spokane, where he was arrested Jan. 6 and returned to Seattle.
Struve pleaded guilty Thursday to five felony counts, including possession of plastic explosives, a North Vietnamese machine gun, a silencer, a grenade and a grenade launcher. Federal prosecutors said much of the arsenal had been stolen from the military.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Woods declined to say what motive Struve had for collecting the weapons other than to note that Struve had said "he might have to use it some day."
Under terms of a plea agreement, Struve faces a sentence of 63 to 78 months in a federal prison.
 

Tawnos

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I kept my stuff at that very storage unit for a month. Had to leave my gun at a friend's house because they have a big red all caps letters of "no firearms storage allowed." Yeah, their signs work *really* well.:quirky
 

Nosrac

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Apr 20, 2008
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Lakewood, Washington, USA
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M1Gunr wrote:
You got to think... At what point was another $100 a month too much to store what he had???

At least you'd think he would have sold a few otherlegal items if he had any in order to pay the rent.That's quite a stash for....one guy??
 

Johnny Law

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Puget Sound, ,
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The ATF served a search warrant on Struve's residence and found a smaller, yet still very impressive cache of weapons and gear there as well. I don't know why he quit paying the storage unit bill, but let's just say he had more than he needed at his residence.

By the way, I wound up purchasing the entire contents of the storage unit (from the original guy who bought it) after the ATF had their way with it. There was someUNBELIEVABLE stuff in there. Kept a lot, and sold off most all the rest.
 

deepdiver

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Apr 2, 2007
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Southeast, Missouri, USA
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Amazing that he would let it go to a lien sale.

Johnny, what kind of "unbelievable stuff" was left after the ATF was finished? Well, what kind of stuff if any that you would be willing to disclose on OCDO I should ask.
 

kenshin

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Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
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M1Gunr wrote:
Struve pleaded guilty Thursday to five felony counts, including possession of plastic explosives, a North Vietnamese machine gun, a silencer, a grenade and a grenade launcher.

Since when has it been illegal to possess a silencer, I thought it was only illegal to use one.

9.41.250(c)

ETA: fixed link
 

KBCraig

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Aug 7, 2007
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Granite State of Mind
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kenshin wrote:
M1Gunr wrote:
Struve pleaded guilty Thursday to five felony counts, including possession of plastic explosives, a North Vietnamese machine gun, a silencer, a grenade and a grenade launcher.

Since when has it been illegal to possess a silencer, I thought it was only illegal to use one.

9.41.250(c)

ETA: fixed link

These are federal charges. It's illegal to possess any NFA item without the proper tax stamp and paperwork.
 

PavePusher

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Apr 26, 2007
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Location
Tucson, Arizona, USA
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M1Gunr wrote:
Man pleads guilty to illegal cache of weapons Arsenal, including explosives, found in Bellevue storage unit By PAUL SHUKOVSKY
P-I REPORTER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/403337_grenade13.html?source=rss

A 65-year-old Spokane man pleaded guilty Thursday to having an arsenal of illegal military weapons and explosives in a Bellevue storage unit.
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested Ronald Struve in January after his cache of weapons -- which included dozens of machine guns and blocks of C-4 plastic explosives -- was discovered by a man who bought at auction the contents of the storage unit at 12863 Northup Way after the unit's rent went unpaid, according to a criminal complaint.
ATF agents received a call from the winning bidder at the auction in November, who explained that there were firearms among the items he had bought "and that he wanted ATF to examine the firearms to determine whether they were legal to possess."
Over the next two days, agents found crates of firearms, munitions and high explosives, including 54 40 mm M406 grenades, the complaint says. They also found silencers, flares, CS gas grenades, 41 pounds of gunpowder and blasting caps.
Agents tracked Struve to Spokane, where he was arrested Jan. 6 and returned to Seattle.
Struve pleaded guilty Thursday to five felony counts, including possession of plastic explosives, a North Vietnamese machine gun, a silencer, a grenade and a grenade launcher. Federal prosecutors said much of the arsenal had been stolen from the military.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Woods declined to say what motive Struve had for collecting the weapons other than to note that Struve had said "he might have to use it some day."
Under terms of a plea agreement, Struve faces a sentence of 63 to 78 months in a federal prison.
IfI had been the buyer, I would have had a "tragic boating accident" prior to calling in the ATF weenies... maybe...
 
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