Gun Buyback Program Hits the Bull’s-Eye

Lory Ambriz drove to El Sereno with a gun Saturday, but the only piece he left town with was peace of mind.

One of more than 50 gun owners who showed up for a gun buyback, Ambriz offered up two genuinely sinister weapons--a stubby 9-millimeter machine pistol and a 7.62-millimeter Russian assault rifle, complete with 30-round banana clip and bayonet.

Once the guns were part of a prized home collection, but now the 68-year-old La Mirada resident sees them as the stuff of a gangster’s dream and a mother’s nightmare. He said he was in constant fear that they would be stolen.

“I used to have them on display,” Ambriz said as he was handed his $200 bounty. “But after everything that’s gone on lately, I said, ‘Forget it.’ I don’t need ‘em. Crazy people are killing for no reason at all.”

Besides, Ambriz said, now he has money to waste on the slot machines in Nevada.

Ambriz’s comments were sweet indeed for the youngsters in Ernie Delgado’s history class. The El Sereno Middle School students had worked for months to raise $3,000 to hand out in the buyback program--offering $100 for every gun in working order that was surrendered. On Saturday, the students collected 34 weapons that will find their ultimate rest in a blast furnace or at the bottom of the sea. (Four owners simply gave up their guns on the promise that students would continue raising money and mail it to them later.)

“This is so much more than we expected,” said a beaming Nereyda Bernal, 13. “And we did all this by selling chocolate!”

With last week’s shooting at the North Valley Jewish Community Center still fresh in people’s minds, Saturday’s offering of guns was particularly poignant.

Many of the prospective gun donors arrived two hours early--well aware that funds were limited. Even those who showed up later and were clearly out of the running hung around, hoping that some guns might be rejected as faulty or some philanthropist might make an eleventh-hour donation to the effort.

“Let me tell you, I can use the cash,” said Michael Andre, 35, of El Sereno, who carried a small automatic in a shaving kit.

Those with guns came from across the street and as far away as Newport Beach, lugging a galaxy of arms--Old West-style six-shooters, bolt-action varmint rifles, pump shotguns, war trophies from World War II and so-called Saturday night specials. Many of them had been inherited or purchased on impulse years ago, then locked away in safes or mothballed in closets.

One of the earliest arrivals was Francisco Villa. The 26-year-old Mid-City resident ponied up a little nickel-plated number that belonged to his unsuspecting younger brother. Villa said the 15-year-old had purchased the unregistered .25-caliber semiautomatic on the street for $150. Villa said that he’d been telling his brother to get rid of it ever since he bought it, but that the brother kept carrying it around.

Villa finally took matters into his own hands when he saw a television report on the buyback early Saturday morning. “He doesn’t know I’m doing this,” Villa said before pulling the gun out of a plastic sack and handing it to a Los Angeles Police Department officer. “He may be upset, but that doesn’t matter. He’s my little brother. I’m trying to keep him out of trouble.”

The stocky warehouse worker told a reporter that he was no stranger to guns in his youth and that friends of his had died from gunfire. “This is exactly the type of gun they use on the street, something little that you can hide and then throw away after you do something,” he said.

Delgado’s students first proposed the buyback project after the school shooting in Littleton, Colo. Initially they hoped to collect guns from reformed gang members who once traded shots on the street corners of El Sereno. It soon became clear, though, that this would not happen. Police cannot take a gun, even one voluntarily handed over, without noting the owner’s name, address and phone number.

Because of this, many of those who lined up to trade in their guns for cash Saturday predicted that the buyback would have little effect on crime.

“It’s not going to do a bit of good in this area,” said an older man who identified himself only as Lee. “These are all the law-abiding citizens.” As he spoke, many of those in line nodded in agreement.

But that wasn’t the opinion of Capt. Morris Smith of the LAPD’s Hollenbeck Division. He said that about 70% of the guns collected Saturday were of the type that are frequently encountered by investigators and patrol officers, and that even a law-abiding person’s gun can be stolen.

“We’re actually really pleased with the turnout,” he said.

But there was nobody more pleased than Delgado. “Let me tell you, I’ve never seen kids get into a class project like this one,” he said.

The teacher said the students are already laying plans for another buyback this year--one that he hopes will offer anonymity for those who want to get rid of their guns.

“What I’d like to see is just a big barrel,” Delgado said. “A barrel where people can just throw their gun in and we can say, ‘Here’s your money.’ ”