A 54-year-old Murrieta man was arrested Thursday after gang task force officers discovered a stash of AK-47s and other guns and ammunition in his home across the street from an elementary school, authorities said.
Trung Huynh was already on probation for an assault weapons conviction in 2009, court records show.
Authorities say Huynh had obtained an Arizona identification card and post-office box so he could purchase weapons there and bring them back to California illegally, said Danny Santiago, commander of the Murrieta-Temecula Regional Gang Task Force. It is not known what Huynh intended to do with the guns, but investigators suspect he could be involved in illegal weapons dealing, Santiago said.
Acting on a tip from agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who had spotted Huynh at a gun show in Arizona, gang task force officers arranged to meet Huynh Thursday at a Riverside County probation office. Officers searched Huynh's car and found a stun gun and an empty pistol magazine, a task force news release said.
Officers then searched Huynh's home on Sheridan Court, a cul-de-sac in a newer subdivision about 200 feet from Buchanan Elementary School. Locked in a gun safe, officers found four AK-47s, three 9-mm pistols and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, the release said. They also found an Arizona identification card belonging to Huynh.
The terms of Huynh's probation and the fact that he has a felony conviction prohibit him from possessing firearms, Santiago said.
It took officers hours to search the home because Huynh and his wife appear to be hoarders, Santiago said. The house was piled high with junk, he said.
Huynh was arrested on suspicion of several firearms-related offenses and violating his probation. He was booked into the Southwest Detention Center with bail set at $25,000, jail records show.
Huynh was released Friday but could not be reached for comment.
Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Saturday, January 29th 2011 at 7:52AM
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