Police Mistakenly Return Firearms to Felon

Alhambra police mistakenly returned a cache of 10 firearms to a felon two days after he pleaded guilty to threatening his wife and daughter with a pistol, authorities said Monday.

Police said the officer who handed over the weapons on Aug. 2 to William Wade Beams, 47, did not know Beams had just pleaded guilty to two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon when Beams came to the Police Department to get his guns back.

The guns were confiscated June 18 after a neighbor telephoned police to report that Beams was threatening his family. Beams was sentenced to five years’ probation. Beams said he is Choctaw and is in an Oklahoma drug rehabilitation clinic run by the tribe.

The district attorney’s notice telling Alhambra police of the convictions arrived by mail last week, said Police Capt. Leon Burrus. The department immediately issued an officer safety bulletin warning that Beams “is now known to have access to many different weapons. . . . Subject is admitted cocaine addict. . . . Beams should be considered armed and dangerous.”

Beams said Monday he had sold the guns to his cousin’s wife. Alhambra Police Chief Russell Siverling said officers were trying to corroborate his story. But officials in the district attorney’s office contended that Beams had promised the weapons to his defense attorney, Lorn E. Aiken, as payment for his legal fees. Aiken could not be reached.

Deputy Dist. Atty. David Disco said the officer returning the weapons should have called the courts to find out if Beams had been convicted.

But Burrus said, “There are too many people in the judicial process to have instant notification of convictions.” He said state law requires police to return property not confiscated as evidence, unless the property is a firearm and the owner is a convicted felon.

But Burrus added, “We’re looking for ways to prevent similar incidents from happening.”