Machine Guns Seized in Simi Raid

Guns destined for a notorious Los Angeles street gang were part of an arsenal of automatic weapons and ammunition seized in a raid early Tuesday at a home in an upscale Simi Valley neighborhood, authorities said.

A special Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department task force, backed by a SWAT team, arrested four people, including Steven Robert Breitel, 46, a major California gun show promoter, shortly after 7 a.m. in the Indian Hills subdivision.

Inside Breitel’s two-story Spanish-style house, officers found 48 weapons, including machine guns, military assault rifles, laser-guided pistols and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Breitel is expected to be charged with conspiracy to sell machine guns and unlawful possession of machine guns, authorities said. The other three are expected to be charged with unlawful possession of machine guns.

The arrests follow a two-week investigation that began when Breitel offered to sell six machine guns for $6,000 to an undercover sheriff’s deputy in Santa Clarita, said Lt. Roger Clark, who headed the undercover operation.

He said the transaction fell through because Breitel “had gotten a better offer from the Crips” street gang in Los Angeles. Clark declined to give details about the alleged deal, but noted that Breitel’s telephone had been tapped.

Viewing the cache that officers spread on the home’s front lawn, neighbor Ann McLaughlin commented: “It’s scary to think this is right in the middle of suburbia.”