Quote :

"To everyone who knew him, Ronald Struve was not the kind of man who would one day be arrested by federal agents and, at age 67, be sent off to prison for four years on weapons charges. He was the jovial bachelor uncle, the eccentric, introverted pack-rat who loved his pet birds and fed the wild critters who came to his back porch. For four decades, he went to work every day as a court stenographer, and even shared a rental house with a King County sheriff's deputy for awhile. But during the decades of the Cold War, Struve also sincerely believed that it was only a matter of time before the Soviets or the Red Chinese came storming onto American soil to conquer our way of life. So quietly, Struve collected an arsenal and stuck it away in rented storage lockers in Bellevue and Spokane: grenade launchers, dozens of grenades and machine guns, plastic explosives, silencers, blasting caps and detonator cord. The Cold War ended, of course, and Struve quit worrying so much. But he just couldn't bear to part with his collection. Then one day he failed to pay the bill on the Bellevue locker. Someone bought the contents at auction. Struve's secret was out. This morning in Seattle, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman sentenced Struve to 48 months in prison, three years of probation and mental health counseling, saying, "The bottom line is people simply should not have these things and that's why we have laws against them." "Your collections have put other people at risk for decades," she said. Struve pleaded guilty in March to one count of possessing plastic explosives and four counts of possessing unregistered firearms. In return, the government dropped more than 100 other counts against him. When agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms first searched the Bellevue locker in November, 2008, one veteran agent said, "In all my years, I've never seen this sort of firepower in one place." They tallied two grenade launchers, fifty-four grenades, six big blocks of C4 plastic explosive, 37 machine guns from the Vietnam-War era, among other weapons. One of the grenades had been "dud-fired," meaning someone had pulled the pin and it could potentially still go off with a mere jiggle. Many of the items turned out to be stolen from the military long ago. The agents also found more weapons in a locker Struve rented in Spokane. When they arrested Struve at his Spokane home, they said he told them he might use the weapons "some day," against "the enemy." --http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/theblotter/2009663664_man_headed_to_prison_for_belle.html "

this makes me

and

if he would have actually used one of those weapons to kill someone, he would have gotten sentenced to less time than that.

8/14/2009 5:09:36 PM

Looks like the cops are planning an ice cream party.

8/14/2009 5:15:52 PM

8/14/2009 5:19:10 PM

May I be the first to say... Wolverines!

8/14/2009 5:23:19 PM

Wow, where do you even buy grenades and C4?

I don't see him serving that full sentence though (assuming the tone of the story isn't misleading)...

[Edited on August 14, 2009 at 5:35 PM. Reason : ]

8/14/2009 5:35:22 PM

^ black market. stuff was purchased in the 60's, lot of it was probably stolen from Army.

anyhow, he was sentenced by a federal judge in US Court.... so, he'll serve that time.

they're working on an appeal, but i don't know how much room they have within these federal statues.





[Edited on August 14, 2009 at 5:38 PM. Reason : ]

8/14/2009 5:37:15 PM

I do think he should be punished, but assuming he's not nuts and really did stock up for the ruskies, 4 years seems harsh.

But how exactly do you legitimately get rid of those types of weapons? I don't think you can walk in to an army base and donate weapons like that can you...?

8/14/2009 5:38:43 PM

Couldn't a good number of those been purchased legally before 1968?

8/14/2009 5:38:44 PM

How many weapons can one person use at one time I can understand having 2 or so assault rifles/machine guns and then a shit ton of ammo. But not a shit ton of weapons and a couple of rounds of ammo for each.

8/14/2009 5:39:55 PM

i dont know... story reports he bought them on the black market. i dont imagine grenades or C4 would ever be able to be purchased legally.

and yeah, i imagine that was his dilemma: how DO you dispose of a cache of explosives.

obviously he believed he was going to be part of, if not lead, an organized resistance of american patriots when the russkies invaded.

not hard to believe how people could believe such things considering mccarthyism and all that communist scare stuff.

now we just replace militant Islamists as the bogeyman du jour.





[Edited on August 14, 2009 at 5:42 PM. Reason : ]

8/14/2009 5:40:46 PM

if he would have come clean to the authorities and been like: Listen I have explosives and I want to turn them into you guys, do you think they would have still arrested him?

8/14/2009 6:05:01 PM

maybe. but he probably oughtta have done that. specially after the whole terrorism thing got out of hand.

course, hindsight's pretty awesome.






[Edited on August 14, 2009 at 6:08 PM. Reason : ]

8/14/2009 6:07:26 PM

Quote :

"do you think they would have still arrested him?"

Yes.

Without a doubt.

8/14/2009 6:10:56 PM

"The Truth Will Set You Free"

8/14/2009 6:14:06 PM

...after a short prison sentence.

8/14/2009 6:15:31 PM

better than a long one?

8/14/2009 6:17:08 PM

still worse than none

8/14/2009 6:18:31 PM

given the circumstances i don't think "none" is an option, here.

8/14/2009 6:32:01 PM

I don't think so, either.

In response to TerdFerguson, I don't think turning himself in would have bought any leniency from the police or the judiciary.

[Edited on August 14, 2009 at 6:37 PM. Reason : ]

8/14/2009 6:37:31 PM

^^ he didn't seem to have stored them in the most secure or safe manner though. That alone is going to draw the ire of the criminal justice system.

and someone who buys in to the red-scare stuff as much as this guy might be a little too naive for everyones' good.

8/14/2009 6:41:21 PM

Quote :

"I do think he should be punished"

Why? What did he do wrong? Is owning weapons a crime now? Jeez.

8/14/2009 7:49:34 PM

Quote :

"and someone who buys in to the red-scare stuff as much as this guy might be a little too naive for everyones' good."

Yeah, he should be locked up along with everyone else who built a backyard bomb shelter.

8/14/2009 7:52:21 PM

I just truly don't get the nanny "you can't own that, you might hurt someone with it one day" attitude. What happened to the days of being able to buy full sticks of dynamite at the hardware store.....

8/14/2009 8:22:52 PM

Hey, at least he didn't get his colon drilled out by Mister Ed, like his neighbor across town.


I think this guy was probably a little off his rocker, but it doesn't sound like he was a threat or malicious in any way whatsoever. In fact, it sounds like he really had only the best intentions, although not the judgement to go about it in the best way.

I wouldn't even be worried about the C4 by itself--that stuff is super stable. Grenades being kept with the C4 in a place like a rented storage locker is, ummm, not the brightest idea.

At any rate, that punishment seems awfully harsh, based on what we know of the story from that article.

8/14/2009 9:01:04 PM

Quote :

"burro: Why? What did he do wrong? Is owning weapons a crime now? Jeez."

um, reading comprehension much? go hunting with grenade launchers & C4, do ya?



@Duke: i have no experience with explosives, but i've read that C4 becomes unstable if it ages too greatly.

my problem is also that the prison sentence seems excessive.

8/14/2009 10:22:45 PM

yeah because the 2nd amendment is about hunting and not defense from tyranny

8/15/2009 5:29:37 AM

I hate you joe schmoe.

I really do.


This arsenal should have been mine god dammit.

8/15/2009 9:05:08 AM

Quote :

"This morning in Seattle, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman sentenced Struve to 48 months in prison, three years of probation and mental health counseling, saying, "The bottom line is people simply should not have these things and that's why we have laws against them.""

The patronizing nature of that statement makes me livid. I don't know why, but it does.

I think probation would have been acceptable, but I doubt mental health counseling is necessary, prison is completely unnecessary. If he possessed this much stuff, and never felt the need to use it, I think we can argue he's not a dangerous man.

Quote :

"and someone who buys in to the red-scare stuff as much as this guy might be a little too naive for everyones' good."

UBL ain't got shit on Khrushchev as a boogey man. We have a vague fear that someone somewhere might do something bad, but not the threat of complete annihilation.

8/15/2009 9:18:52 AM

if he wanted to dispose of them properly, he could have taken them out in the middle of the woods and left them in a heap

and made sure there was no way to trace them back to him

or if he bought them on the black market, he probably could have sold them there

when the ATF finds shit in the middle of the woods they investigate the regulars and locals, all he had to do was make sure he left them in a place where he was neither

most likely, he knows others who have their own collections, just put piles a few miles from their houses

8/15/2009 10:09:09 AM

Quote :

"go hunting with grenade launchers & C4, do ya? "

I would in a heartbeat. Why just shoot an animal when in one swift shot you could skin it, tenderize it, and cook it too?

8/15/2009 10:20:14 AM

Quote :

"if he wanted to dispose of them properly, he could have taken them out in the middle of the woods and left them in a heap"

I'm pretty sure the proper disposal of armaments doesn't involve a pile of grenades and C4 in the forest.

8/15/2009 12:13:31 PM

^ It does to that guy though and that's what matters son.


He fucked up big time letting those items get discovered. :-/

8/15/2009 12:28:01 PM

8/15/2009 4:22:58 PM

I think this is a case where a judge could stand to use a little common sense and discretion. Who am i kidding though. This is the same country that will withdraw financial aid from a kid caught with a dime bag of pot but someone convicted of theft or beating up women is "ok". A gardner growing marijuana plants for personal use will go to jail for 20 years but a rapist will be out on parole in 10.

United States of Freedom #1 !!!

8/15/2009 6:11:37 PM

you use pot when you're getting aid from the state or federal government and get caught...fuck you. that's tax payer dollars. I skipped 3 classes at the naval academy and did 30 days of restriction (which, without going into detail, is not fun) plus 100 hours of extra duty....why? because I was wasting taxpayer dollars by not going to the classes they paid for

sure, people get aid, use pot and don't get caught and continue to draw money...but they're putting themselves at risk...i don't want my damn money paying for some kids textbooks so he has more money to score a dime bag

just because you think it's not fair doesn't make it any less illegal

[Edited on August 15, 2009 at 6:45 PM. Reason : .]

8/15/2009 6:43:46 PM

^Not the same thing.

One includes "restriction" and the other includes losing your aid entirely.

8/15/2009 8:05:40 PM

that sawed-off looks freakin nasty... i'd hate to take one up close from that thing

8/15/2009 8:56:18 PM

Quote :

"that sawed-off looks freakin nasty... i'd hate to take one up close from that thing"

we call that, the Cheney

8/15/2009 11:31:30 PM

^^ and ^ I was a U.S. Army armorer. And from the look of the stocks, barrels, and sights, I'm confident that those are M79 grenade launchers.





Just FYI.

8/16/2009 7:08:43 AM

haha, i didn't realize that's what he was talking about. i thought there was some other picture linked in the article or something.

8/16/2009 8:28:19 AM

^^ i love it when hooksaw presents factual information in a pleasant manner.

8/16/2009 2:10:53 PM

Quote :

"um, reading comprehension much? go hunting with grenade launchers & C4, do ya?"

Yes, because hunting is the only reason the 2nd amendment exists

but really, what did this guy do wrong, other than own something you don't like?

8/16/2009 7:26:07 PM

Quote :

"but really, what did this guy do wrong, other than own something you don't like?"

Possession of stolen property is a crime. This guy owned shit that was stolen from the US military. Somewhere along the way, he paid people to steal from the Army and from you, the taxpayer.

Also, aren't you from the same camp that's always spouting "rule of law" when it comes to illegal immigration, but now you're ignoring the concept when it applies to fucking plastic explosives?

Quote :

"But he just couldn't bear to part with his collection. "

Unless he actually said something to this effect, it's bullshit. Even if he wanted to get rid of them, what the hell was he going to do? Go to the authorities and get a jail sentence? Pile them up in the woods like Stinger said so that some kid or criminal could find them? Sell them? How the fuck do you sell an arsenal like that?

---

All of this being said, I don't actually see much benefit in him serving prison time. Some sort of court-mandated psychiatric monitoring would make more sense to me. However, given the size of the arsenal and the number of counts that prosecutors were willing to throw out, I'm not too worked up over it.

8/17/2009 12:57:45 AM

Quote :

"Yes, because hunting is the only reason the 2nd amendment exists"

i'm well aware of the historical reasons behind the Second Amendment. Sorry you're such a fixed concrete thinker that you can't see past a bit of sarcastic humor.

Quote :

"but really, what did this guy do wrong, other than own something you don't like?"

one thing, based on what i understand and given the circumstances, i dont think he should do any jail time.

but the fact is, plastic explosives and live grenades are illegal. whether i "like" it or not. so don't be a fucking retard, okay?

8/17/2009 1:13:00 AM

they aren't illegal.

8/17/2009 8:44:05 AM

okay, "unregluated" C4 is illegal to possess. Live grenades are illegal to possess. stolen military weapons, however obtained, are generally speaking illegal to possess.

8/17/2009 10:23:47 AM

again, I'm not sure that it is illegal to possess live grenades. it's even probably legal to possess stolen military weapons, as long as you don't know the weapons were stolen, or have reasonable reason to believe so.

In this case, the guy might have known the weapons were stolen, or at least he should have suspected it, more than likely.

8/17/2009 6:32:30 PM

one's guilt or innocence of the crime of possession of stolen property is not predicated on whether or not they knew it was stolen.

(imagine, for a moment, if "i didn't know" was a valid defense)

at best, a prosecutor might decline to pursue the charge, or a judge might be lenient in sentencing. this guy's problem is that he violated federal law. not so much room for leniency there.

8/17/2009 6:36:45 PM

which federal law, again?

yes, "i didn't know the law" isn't a valid defense. However, "i didn't know these were ill-gotten" most certainly would be a valid defense.

If a guy goes in to best buy and buys a TV at full-price and the cops show up and find that the TV was stolen and returned to best buy, do you really think the guy who bought the TV should be held accountable? Of course not.

But, again, it seems reasonable that this guy likely knew some of the weapons were stolen, so it's a moot point, ultimately. While I did say he did nothing wrong, I'll recant on just the aspect of the stolen weapons. However, owning said weapons, when legally acquired, is not "doing something wrong." And I'll stand by that statement.

8/17/2009 6:43:53 PM

ok ... but its a moot point. because in his case the charges of stolen property were dropped.

Quote :

"Struve pleaded guilty in March to one count of possessing plastic explosives and four counts of possessing unregistered firearms."

in other news, a Dr. from Arkansas recently charged with illegally possessing high explosive grenades

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,538941,00.html

8/17/2009 6:59:20 PM