Alleged secessionist charged w/gun, drug

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Alleged secessionist charged w/gun, drug
6
Mon, 06-01-2009 - 1:11pm

Looks like my state has it's share of freaks of nature too...sigh...


Alleged secessionist charged with gun, drug charges
Prosecutors contend Snohomish man had machine gun, silencers

By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF



Federal authorities in Seattle have filed gun and drug charges against an alleged member of a secessionist movement after agents seized a weapons cache that included four silencers, body armor and a fully automatic rifle.


Filings in the case, currently before the U.S. District Court in Seattle, offer glimpses into the "sovereign citizen" movement and, prosecutors contend, militia groups loosely affiliated with it.


Currently free on bond, Andrew Steven Gray was arrested early last month after a lengthy investigation involving a Snohomish County militia shooting range, according to recently unsealed documents filed in U.S. District Court. Gray, a Snohomish man with a previous felony conviction on drug charges, is alleged to have amassed a 21-gun collection at a Monroe storage unit, as well as operated a 300- to 500-plant marijuana grow at his home.


Prosecutors also contend that Gray, 32, has long-standing ties to the sovereign citizen movement, in which adherents believe state and federal law do not apply to them. Through his attorney, Gray has denied membership in any such group; that claim, though, seems to be at odds with a letter sent to the court on Gray's behalf from a leader in a Snohomish County secessionist movement.



The informant obtained a recorded statement during which Gray was heard admitting to gun possession, according to the agent's statement. With that statement, federal agents obtained a search warrant and on May 4 raided a storage locker and home occupied by Gray.


At the locker, agents allegedly discovered a stash of weapons, armor and ammunition. The cache included four unregistered silencers, as well as a M-16-style machine gun capable of automatic fire. Among the weapons seized were two guns manufactured by a Snohomish gunsmith whose offerings include parts named "Christian warrior" and "NObama."  (Me:  HOW did he get all of those weapons?  IF the current gun laws are being so dedicatedly followed by gun owners in our country...then who the heck sold a FELON guns??  Yes, could have been the secessionists, but since he claims he's not affiliated with them any longer...)


Agents also raided a Snohomish home, inside which they discovered the marijuana operation, according to court documents. Gray was arrested and has since been indicted on charges of unlawful machinegun and silencer possession, felon in possession of a firearm and marijuana possession with the intent to distribute.



...lawyer Jessica Riley, argued that Gray is no longer involved in sovereign-citizen groups.


"Although Mr. Gray may have historically been affiliated with this group, in recent months he had begun to distance himself from the 'sovereign citizen' movement," Riley said in court documents. "Mr. Gray is not the crazy, politically charged renegade that the government makes him out to be in its complaint." (Me:  LOL!  Ummmm...honey, he sure sounds like he is!)


Riley went on to describe Gray as an "avid gun collector," an unusual hobby for a man barred from gun ownership due to a previous felony conviction. (Me:  ROTFLMAO!  Yeah, not only on "unusual hobby" but a completely ILLEGAL one!)



The assertions made by Gray's attorney appear to be at odds with a character reference sent to the court by Thom Satterlee, who identifies himself as "Bishop of the Way" and "Yoshua's Talmadin."


According to Everett's Herald newspaper, Satterlee has frequently advocated that a portion of Snohomish County dubbed Freedom County by supporters secede from the United States. Over the years, Satterlee has been convicted of practicing law without a license, seen his non-existent county's sheriff jailed, and had the Secret Service confiscate "public wealth rebate notes" he attempted to redeem at a bank.  (Me:  Satterlee is another local nutcase who has been in & out of the news around here.  I just wish he'd go away!)


In his May 18 letter to the court, Satterlee wrote glowingly of Gray, describing him as a man of "high moral character whose word is (his) bond."


"I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Andrew for better than the last 10 years," Satterlee said in the statement. "Andrew has always been respectful and courteous in all the situations and toward all the individuals that we were helping."



Complete article at http://www.seattlepi.com/local/406704_gray01.html

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-25-2008
Mon, 06-01-2009 - 1:59pm
The Pacific northwest does seem to

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Mon, 06-01-2009 - 5:50pm

Yep...pretty darn "diverse"!


iVillage Member
Registered: 12-25-2008
Mon, 06-01-2009 - 6:32pm

On your serious note, I'd have to do some more reading into the situation before I can really offer any answers or informed opinions.

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Tue, 06-02-2009 - 1:49pm

Oh, I don't believe that a dealer sold him the fully auto weapon.


iVillage Member
Registered: 12-25-2008
Tue, 06-02-2009 - 4:06pm
I'd love to see NICS database expanded to include all prohibited individuals, not just those who have been convicted of a felony.

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Wed, 06-03-2009 - 11:11am

These nut jobs are running around armed to the teeth yet there's fear of prisoners from Gitmo who would be

 


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