Police uncover ex-convict's weapons cache Police uncover ex-convict's weapons cache (July 23, 2004)

Stash of firearms included assault rifles, bayonets

By David Herbert

Mountain View Police officers entered a duplex in the 800 block of Park Ave. last week and made a stunning discovery, finding 38 handguns, shotguns, rifles and assault weapons.

The bust was a big success for the department, according to police spokesperson Jim Bennett.

"Every time we remove a weapon from the hands of someone who shouldn't have one, it is a relief for law enforcement that that weapon is no longer out on the streets," he said.

The police were working with information supplied by the department's Suppression and Support Unit, which learned that convicted felon Lee Banglos, 40, was keeping a veritable arsenal in his residence. At approximately 8 p.m. on July 13, Mountain View police officers and detectives served the warrant and entered his residence. The Regional Mountain View and Palo Alto SWAT team and a federal ATF (Alcohol Tobacco Firearms) agent assisted in the sting.

Inside, law enforcement agents found 21 rifles and shotguns, including two with bayonets, and 17 handguns. Five of the rifles found are banned under the state's assault rifle ban, and convicted felons are barred from owning firearms. In addition to the weapons, officers also discovered small amounts of narcotics and narcotic paraphernalia in the home.

Banglos, however, was not at the home, and police officers immediately initiated a search for him. He was located a short time later driving down the 100 block of West El Camino Real. Officers pulled him over and arrested him without a struggle. He was booked at the county's main jail on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of an assault weapon, possession of narcotics and possession of narcotic paraphernalia.

Kellie Stratton, 25, an acquaintance of Banglos who was found inside the residence during the raid, was arrested and booked on charges of possession of narcotics and possession of narcotic paraphernalia. A young child who was with Stratton at the time of the arrest was turned over to relatives.

E-mail David Herbert at dherbert@mv-voice.com

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