Incidentally, the firm he was contending that he was working for is a firm owned by Robert Romero and Keith Gilbert. Schlapia's arrest followed an alert by Federal authorities to local law enforcement in the Los Padres National Forest area that so-called paramilitary groups were planning a military-type training mission. I would like, at this time, to introduce this. But before I do, I would like to point out a portion of this exhibit which is in the handwriting of one Joseph Remon Carry, who is a fugitive and a selfdeclared Minuteman. He had in his possession as the Attorney General indicated an M-2 carbine, and in his own handwriting we have some notes here, one while he was doodling which shows the sickle and hammer equal to the star of David and a cross. And one of the statements in his handwriting apparently was this note taken just prior to the meeting, and in it he states that We must be prepared to evacuate our families on a very short notice to safety; in order to do this we will need sidearms and rifles and the ability to use them if need be. We will need perhaps one alternate route. And Harold Schlapia when arrested had quad maps of the Sequoia National Forest area—and also one of the notes indicated that We must stock some provisions in advance along this route so that we can travel light, fast, and inconspicuously. And Schlapia had in his possession many of these types of weapons that are used in warfare. He also stated on page 3 that "We can coordinate many of these tasks in our field problems," indicating that these people are actually going out on field problems in a military manner. The last contact this department has had with Harold Schlapia was when Robert A. Smith and Francis Owens, traveling ammunition and gun dealers from Delaware, were arrested in Los Angeles last month. Smith and Owens were charged by Federal authorities with possession of a military-type full automatic AR-15 rifle and an M-2 carbine. Schlapia was identified as a swamper and relief driver for this mobile operation. The two 5-ton trucks used by Smith and Owens in the cross-country business were also found to contain two mortars and a Lahti 20millimeter antitank cannon. Also found in the stock were 950 rounds of ammunition for the antitank cannon. The committee has photos of this seizure, I believe. I asked them what they were doing with this cannon and this ammuntion and they indicated, "We have a lot of cannon clubs throughout the city." We are glad to see that the proposed bill would help to curb this type of mobile gun merchandising by requiring a fixed place of busi ness. I know of no legitimate sporting use for mortars and antitank guns. It is difficult to see why anyone should oppose their control. The country is being flooded with cheap foreign imports. A recent issue of the Shotgun News carried three pages (tabloid size) of advertising on handguns. Of the 33 guns featured, 29 were inexpensive imports. In addition, the market at various times during the past 6 years has been flooded with shipments of the so-called muzzle-loading revolvers which are easily converted to cartridge weapons. The conversion is accomplished by simply pushing out a plug, as depicted in photos provided the committee. (The documents and photographs referred to were marked "Exhibits Nos. 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59" and are as follows:) EXHIBIT No. 53 THUR LA TIMES 68 Customs Here Seizes Los Angeles customs agents When questioned, D. Patrick Ahern, collector of customs, said the guns were seized because the importer stated the weapons were muzzle-loading and not capable of firing metallic cartridges. Removal of a plug easily converts them to use of regular .22 caliber ammunition, he said. The guns were slated for the Crown International Firearms, Inc. firm owned by Hy Hunter, 8255 Sunset Blvd., officials said. Officials said the guns could be converted to reg. ular cartridges, by pushing out the primer plug with a pencil. Import value of the shipment was placed at $11,000, which arrived from Hamburg, Germany, aboard the ship Bolinas. The shipment was taken to the customs warehouse facilities at 531 Mateo St. Muzzle-loading guns, it was stated, are duty free, but pistols carry a duty of so much per gun plus 30 per cent of the value of the shipment. (1) IF STOLEN IN CITY OF LOS ANGELES EACH CASE MUST BE COVERED BY CRIME AND FOLLOW-UP REPORTS (2) DESCRIBE CIRCUMSTANCES RESULTING IN BOOKING OF THIS PROP YEN QUAN SERIAL NUMBERIST BLUE_CARDBOARD BOX - MARKED " SAMPLE FR JFF 101621/3/2 CONTAINING INSTRUCTION SHEET AND A DOBIBLE BARREL INP HY HUNTER DERRINGER - 357 MAG & 38 SPECIAL 100700 2LHY HUNTER 22 CAL FRONTIER TYPE REU.-B/S 5%- BBL. IMITATION STAG HORN GRIPS-. 3_L__ZY HUNTER - REPLICA OF A STEVENS 22 CAL •ABOVE GUNS BROUGHT TO ROBB DIV_AND_ + BACHRACH. BY 26555 01630 Property report of Sgt. Jess C. Gonzales, Los Angeles Police Department on seizure of goods from Haywood "Hy" Hunter. |