Undercover Drug Operation Yields Cache of Weapons

When undercover Los Angeles Police Department detectives went to a residence in Silver Lake, they expected to find the tenant selling drugs. Instead, they said Thursday, they found a small arsenal: a grenade launcher, blasting caps, several silencers, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, volatile chemicals and a rifle with a drum that holds 250 bullets.

Acting on a telephone tip, Det. Dave Robinson and Officer Tony Ramirez went to a duplex in the 2400 block of Riverside Drive Wednesday under the pretext of wanting to buy drugs. When James Spaan, 40, invited the pair inside, police said, they noticed a small child sitting on a couch next to a 9-millimeter handgun. They also saw several military-type weapons in the living room. They quickly identified themselves and arrested Spaan on suspicion of possessing illegal firearms and child endangerment.

“Our first concern was the safety of the child,” said Capt. Mike Hillmann of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Northeast Division. The girl, Spaan’s 2-year-old daughter, was taken into protective custody.

After seeing the chemicals, the bomb squad was called in and the area, which has three other homes and five businesses, was evacuated.

“The cops told me to get out right now,” said Tracy Lee, who lives next door. “They wouldn’t even let me take my dogs.”

The bomb squad detonated explosives five times before declaring the area safe. “There were so many blasting caps that they blew the bomb squad’s 30-pound blanket 100 feet into the air, “ Lt. Anthony Alba said.

Special Agent John D’Angelo of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said federal authorities expect to take custody of Spaan today and charge him as a convicted felon in possession of firearms. Spaan spent time in a federal prison for forgery, D’Angelo said.

There was no immediate indication that Spaan was a member of a militia.

“He was real nice, “ said neighbor Andrew Henrion, “You never would have guessed something like this was going on.”