Gun-toting men in a standoff with police in Inglewood and L.A. face charges, prosecutors say
The two camouflage-wearing, assault rifle-carrying men involved in a bizarre rolling standoff with police in Inglewood and Los Angeles this week are facing weapons charges, prosecutors said Thursday.
Edmon Washington, 35, and Brook Lindsey, 30, both residents of the San Fernando Valley, were charged Thursday with felony counts of possession of an assault weapon, the L.A. County district attorney’s office said. Prosecutors described the weapons as Hi-Point semiautomatic assault rifles.
Lindsey faced an additional felony charge of unlawful assault weapon activity, prosecutors said.
Lindsey pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment Thursday. Washington’s arraignment was pushed to Friday.
The spectacle, which was captured by local television stations, began about 11:30 p.m. Monday in Inglewood, where the men were seen carrying the guns and wearing military gear before getting in a car and driving to a San Fernando Valley apartment.
At one point, an LAPD assistant chief told police commissioners Tuesday, authorities received radio calls indicating the men had said they were at a convenience store “waiting for the police to arrive so that they would shoot the police.”
The two men were taken into custody Tuesday morning after they exited their car at a busy intersection in Sylmar, and one was struck with a less-than-lethal round. The other man stripped down to his boxer shorts and surrendered to heavily armed LAPD officers.
By Tuesday afternoon, police had obtained a warrant and were searching the apartment. Investigators recovered two rifles that matched what the men were seen carrying, along with ammunition, hatchets and backpacks, said LAPD Deputy Chief Michael Downing.
The investigation was ongoing, prosecutors said Thursday.
If convicted of the charges, Lindsey faces more than eight years in jail, prosecutors said. Washington faces up to three years.
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