Man charged after Walmart reports customer buying "large quantities" of ammo

[srad]

"The system" worked. Bi-polar paranoid schizophrenic, reportedly off meds by his girlfriend, admitted engaging in straw purchase, consensual search reveals possession of an unregistered suppressor and a Savage MSR15 (illegal in NY) and 30-rd magazines (illegal in NY); see-something/say-something and law enforcement worked as it should in this case both in apprehending a soon-to-be felon and possibly preventing a future tragedy (though no evidence of an imminent threat is mentioned).
How police tracked down ex-Cornell student who had bomb material, assault rifle, more | NewYorkUpstate.com

 

[Ark]

"The system" worked. Bi-polar paranoid schizophrenic, reportedly off meds by his girlfriend, admitted engaging in straw purchase, consensual search reveals possession of an unregistered suppressor and a Savage MSR15 (illegal in NY) and 30-rd magazines (illegal in NY); see-something/say-something and law enforcement worked as it should in this case both in apprehending a soon-to-be felon and possibly preventing a future tragedy (though no evidence of an imminent threat is mentioned).
How police tracked down ex-Cornell student who had bomb material, assault rifle, more | NewYorkUpstate.com

Another one of those situations proving the Fourth Amendment means jack squat if you're not around and somebody else grants permission to search your space that they may or may not have any right to grant.

The part that disturbs me is they knew NONE of that before the Walmart call. There's also zero evidence of any kind of actual plot or actual threat to anyone else, once you screen out all the alarmist language about "assault rifles" and "bulletproof vests" and "high-capacity magazines". He was in violation of New York's BS laws but otherwise there's no evidence he was actually doing anything wrong. "Mentally ill" describes by some estimates 1 in 5 Americans. The "mentally ill" are more likely to be victimized themselves than to harm others. His lawyer appears to be emphasizing that angle in an attempt to get a better deal for his client.

This entire situation originated from Walmart ratting him out for buying ammo, which is a 100% legal activity in New York. That one phone call was enough to put SWAT at this guy's door. What happens when they rat the next lawful buyer out, SWAT rolls up, and they smoke him for having "something" in his hand when he opens the door? Are Walmart employees really qualified to be evaluating who is a "threat"?

In this case they found a guy who was easy enough to spin as a threat. What happens if the next one is you?

 

[Alpo]

Wal-Mart has the right to refuse any customer.

 

[Somemedic]

Oh boy.... He's buying pseudoepi and vitamin c with bowl cleaner. Probably making a bomb. Better call the feds.

Or perhaps he has a cold and wants to clean his throne

So his gf says he's off his meds. In my previous expirenece gf's don't always have their BFs best interest at heart. This is usually after an argument or anytime she's pissed which may be at any given moment AND JUST MAYBE she's putting him in a trick bag?

Calling the coppers for buying a few 500rnd buckets stinks.

Perhaps kutnup, you wouldn't mind Wal-Mart calling your employer when they're concerned about you picking up whatever perscriptions they fill for you (for instance)? I'm not saying that where you get them or even take meds but don't tell me you don't see a slippery slope when merchants begin investigating customers? Just sell me useless crap from China and stay the hell out of the law enforcement business. That's what we pay PD to do.

 

[BugI02]

Wait till UPS starts reporting 1K deliveries???????????????

Starts?

 

[BugI02]

What were the "bomb" materials.

Pretty sure every house has chemicals that are "bomb" materials.

Empty liter soda bottles?

 

[BugI02]

Doesn't even have to be Wal-Mart. In the era of big data, you credit card company can likely match you to every firearm or ammunition purchase you made on a card. Even if you buy off of WalletBreaker and use PO money order, it wouldn't be very difficult to match a sale by Burt's Guns to your address and a PO from your local post. Unless you're buying with cash, at a gun show and no checks are being made; the people involved in the transaction already know way too much about you. They just haven't been encouraged/motivated to use it in all the ways possible (yet)

One more thing to think about in the 'corporations battling the NRA' arena. If corporations get co-opted into the anti-gun movement - whether by activist CEOs or by the gov't itself - it will make 1984 look like a holiday brochure

 

[BehindBlueI's]

If we're going to complain about law enforcement being contacted numerous times about the Florida shooter and doing nothing, then complaining about this seems more than a little disingenuous.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH....wait, you're serious?

No, the crystal ball of hindsight must be used. Wait for "pre-crime"....

The alleged Florida shooter actually committed crimes.

This is pure PRECRIME.

There we go.

Was he barricaded in his apartment, or did he leave occasionally to go to Walmart? Why escalate to SWAT with SCARY ARs knocking on his door.

So much fail here.

Where are you getting SWAT and ARs? A detective and 2 agents went to the apartment and were invited in. They left and asked the girlfriend to call when he got home. She did. 2 Agents met him, asked him to talk to them in their car, and he did.

So...where's SWAT? The suspect then agreed to a search saying he didn't want the weapons any longer and voluntarily agreed to go to a psych facility. Maybe, just maybe, he figured out he was on the wrong path his bombs (fireworks with shrapnel attached) and whatever he was planning.

EOD came out because of the bombs, but I see zero mention of SWAT, approaching it like a barricaded suspect, etc.

 

[686 Shooter]

I read the article and saw wrong on both sides. If you know you’re going to do something illeagal with the items that you purchase, why would you pay with a credit card or check? If the merchant felt that the customer was doing something illeagal or immoral, refuse the sale. Buying too much ammo is ridiculous, more than likely each and everyone of us likes to shoot, so there’s no such thing as too much ammo. Because the person did agree to the search, I think the police did a good job, though I do believe that the fuel/oil filter silencer was a reach. Using the girlfriend’s statement regarding the accused being off of his meds and was having some psychological issues, I do believe that a potential crisis may have been prevented.

 

[Kutnupe14]

Oh boy.... He's buying pseudoepi and vitamin c with bowl cleaner. Probably making a bomb. Better call the feds.

Or perhaps he has a cold and wants to clean his throne

So his gf says he's off his meds. In my previous expirenece gf's don't always have their BFs best interest at heart. This is usually after an argument or anytime she's pissed which may be at any given moment AND JUST MAYBE she's putting him in a trick bag?

Calling the coppers for buying a few 500rnd buckets stinks.

Perhaps kutnup, you wouldn't mind Wal-Mart calling your employer when they're concerned about you picking up whatever perscriptions they fill for you (for instance)? I'm not saying that where you get them or even take meds but don't tell me you don't see a slippery slope when merchants begin investigating customers? Just sell me useless crap from China and stay the hell out of the law enforcement business. That's what we pay PD to do.

The simple response to this, is "don't like it?.... vote with your dollars." There's noting illegal about what Wal-Mart did, nor was their anything illegal with what law enforcement did. The suspicions were followed up by all legal means, and led to the arrest with a law breaker.

 

[DRob]

Nice job by all involved, I'm thinking.

 

[femurphy77]

Look out it’s a bust everyone slit!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh you're going to fit RIGHT in here!

Oh and I bought 2000 rounds at Wal Mart last week but till haven't seen the SWAT team???

 

[BehindBlueI's]

though I do believe that the fuel/oil filter silencer was a reach.

The one the suspect admitted was a home built firearms silencer?

 

[gmcttr]

...Oh and I bought 2000 rounds at Wal Mart last week but till haven't seen the SWAT team???

You only get reported if you buy camping gear and knives with the ammo.

 

[2A_Tom]

300 rounds of live ammo in his apartment. That is way too much for just personal defense.

 

[Brad69]

The Wally purchase was one slice of the pie.
It appears that local and federal authorities worked together and then applied the appropriate response?

 

[2A_Tom]

From the article, it seems that absolutely no investigation was done between the initial Walmart report and knocking on his door.

He had 300 rounds. How many do you have? How many do you buy at one time?

 

[2A_Tom]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH....wait, you're serious?

No, the crystal ball of hindsight must be used. Wait for "pre-crime"....



There we go.


Where are you getting SWAT and ARs? A detective and 2 agents went to the apartment and were invited in. They left and asked the girlfriend to call when he got home. She did. 2 Agents met him, asked him to talk to them in their car, and he did.

So...where's SWAT? The suspect then agreed to a search saying he didn't want the weapons any longer and voluntarily agreed to go to a psych facility. Maybe, just maybe, he figured out he was on the wrong path his bombs (fireworks with shrapnel attached) and whatever he was planning.

EOD came out because of the bombs, but I see zero mention of SWAT, approaching it like a barricaded suspect, etc.

I apologize for my swat reference, I misread the original article. I read AR 15 style rifle several times in the article and injected it it into this paragraph mistakenly.

[QUOTE]Most people on the eighth floor of the building said they did not know Reynolds and couldn’t remember ever seeing anyone walk in or out of his room, 8K, until police and men in suits showed up in the hallway several times last week.[/QUOTE]

 

[BehindBlueI's]

From the article, it seems that absolutely no investigation was done between the initial Walmart report and knocking on his door.

He had 300 rounds. How many do you have? How many do you buy at one time?

You'd think other people have bought as much or more ammo at the store...yet probably didn't get a call to the authorities and a knock on their door. And probably don't have home built bombs, etc.

I'm curious why you're trying so hard to make this guy a victim.

 

[Brad69]

I believe 300 rounds in New York is a suspicious amount of ammunition.
In Indiana its a short range session.
Two completely different states one would not believe they are part of the same country.

I would assume the young man most probably displayed serious symptoms of mental illness during the purchase.
If any of us went to buy ammo and camping supplies while muttering about “they” are coming for me it might raise an eyebrow?