Pasadena Man Charged in Assault Weapons Case

A 58-year-old Pasadena man found with 61 assault weapons, a rare helicopter ammunition drum and 15,000 rounds of ammunition in his home was arraigned on weapons charges in federal court Monday.

Authorities held a morning news conference to unveil the large cache of weapons that were discovered last week in Leonard Hebert’s home.

Most were kept in a specially constructed room, hidden from visitors, in the home in an upscale Pasadena neighborhood, authorities said.

Pasadena Police Chief Bernard K. Melekian, who called the weapons seizure the largest in memory in Pasadena, said police officers were chasing a robbery suspect in the early morning of Feb. 20 when they ended up on Hebert’s property in the 600 block of South Los Robles Avenue.

Their search for the robber proved futile, but they stumbled upon some weapons lying in plain sight in the house, he said.

After a search warrant was filed Friday, Hebert was arrested. He remains in federal custody and will enter a plea at a later hearing. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, authorities said Monday morning.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents believe Hebert was not a gun collector and may have been assembling the weapons for the purpose of selling them.

“Mr. Hebert had no criminal record and it’s not clear at this time what his ultimate intentions were with these weapons,” Melekian said.

More search warrants will be served, he said, including one at Hebert’s place of employment. Authorities said he is “some type of engineer,” but would not disclose where he works.

Hebert did not have permits for any of the firearms, they said.