3 Face Gun Charges in Militia Case

Three men who when arrested were portrayed by Los Angeles police as part of an armed militia “planning domestic terrorism” were charged Thursday with simple felony possession of illegal firearms.

Glenn Yee, 43, of San Dimas and Los Angeles residents Timothy Swanson, 43, and Mark Grand, 33, were scheduled to be arraigned today in Los Angeles Municipal Court. Yee faces the most serious charges: two counts of possession of an automatic weapon and one count of automatic weapon conversion. Swanson and Grand are each charged with one count of possessing a short-barreled shotgun or rifle. The men, arrested May 9, have been free on bail since then.

To date, no charges have been filed against a fourth man arrested at the time, Alvin Ung, 31, of Ontario. Los Angeles authorities say a final decision on that may rest with officials in San Bernardino County.

A fifth defendant, Raymond Durand, 36, of Valencia, has already been charged with selling an illegal assault weapon to a police informant. He has pleaded not guilty to that charge and faces a preliminary hearing June 19.

Yee’s attorney, Chuck Michel, said Thursday that it was premature for him to comment on the charges in the case other than to say he will mount a significant defense to challenge them.

“The most significant aspect of this filing,” Michel added, “is not what they have been charged with but what they have not been charged with.

“There is no domestic terrorism allegation and no conspiracy allegation. These charges are a far cry from the allegations that the LAPD leveled at these guys on national television.”

After a two-year investigation by its Anti-Terrorist Division, the LAPD arrested the five men and seized more than 100 weapons after search warrants were served at several locations in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

At the time of the arrests, LAPD officials not only alleged that the group was planning acts of domestic terrorism but also that its cache of weapons was sufficient to wage war.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Najera, who filed the charges, declined Thursday to comment on why the criminal complaints against the men fell far short of what the police statements would have indicated.

Sandi Gibbons, the district attorney’s spokeswoman, added: “We file cases based on the evidence presented to us by police. And based on the evidence, we found these are the appropriate charges.”

LAPD spokesman Lt. Anthony Alba said the department would not comment on the charges filed by the district attorney’s office.

He added only that a recent conversation with officials in the Anti-Terrorist Division indicated to him that they stand by their original statements in the case.

“[Their] opinion had not changed,” Alba said.

If convicted, Swanson and Grand face up to three years in state prison. Yee’s maximum sentence would be nine years, four months.