LAPD Defends Alleged Militia Group’s Arrest

A Los Angeles Police Department official Saturday said the department had no choice but to move in on a group of five suspected militia members--even though four of the men were able to get out of jail on bail shortly after the announcement of their arrests on relatively minor weapons offenses.

“To have waited any longer in this case would have invited a holocaust similar to [the shootout between police and two bank robbers in] North Hollywood, and possibly much more grave,” LAPD Cmdr. Tim McBride said.

Police said the suspects had been planning to pull off various unspecified acts of domestic terrorism.

“It’s easy for others to be critical. However, when they see the weaponry that was taken off the street, and the probable loss of life that would have occurred had these weapons been activated, there was no other decision,” McBride said. “They needed to move now to ensure these weapons weren’t used against the public.”

He said the department’s Anti-Terrorist Division is continuing its investigation into the group’s allegedly subversive activities. Although McBride declined to provide details on the investigation, he said it was possible that additional, more serious charges would be filed against the suspects once the investigation was concluded. He also said other arrests are expected.

Meanwhile, neighbors and acquaintances spoke well of the suspected militiamen, who hailed from across Southern California--from Santa Clarita to San Bernardino County. One was a bagel store manager, another owned a Porsche repair shop on a dirt lot behind a drive-in dairy store, next door to a Montessori school.

None could be reached for comment Saturday.

Even if charges aren’t upgraded, said Capt. Joseph Curreri, who heads the Anti-Terrorist Division, the arrests will probably be a deterrent to any terrorist activity on the part of the suspects and possibly others. “This should help them rethink their priorities,” he said.

Police arrested the five suspects Friday after serving search warrants in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Police seized more than 100 weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition--a cache that one investigator characterized as enough firepower to “wage war.”

Many of the weapons were found, authorities said, in a tile-roofed two-story house located in a quiet cul-de-sac of look-alike homes in Ontario’s Creekside development.

Among the items seized were a grenade launcher, fully automatic assault rifles, night-vision goggles, camouflage suits, a gas mask, rappelling gear, laser scopes, flak jackets and ammunition for a .50-caliber machine gun. Some of the assault rifles apparently were purchased legally and then illegally converted into automatic weapons, police said.

The suspects were identified as Glenn Yee, 43, of San Dimas, a reserve Irwindale police officer; Alvin Ung, 31, of Ontario; Mark Grand, 31, of Mar Vista; Timothy Swanson, 43, of Los Angeles, and Raymond Durand, 33, of Santa Clarita. All were allowed to walk out of jail after posting no more than $15,000 bail except for Durand, who remains in custody.

Police said the suspects were part of a “militia cell” that belonged to a larger organization. The suspects were allegedly planning to attack several Southern California targets, but police refused to identify those locations.

According to police, the suspects were the leaders of the group. They held bimonthly practice session to hone their tactics in marksmanship, authorities said.

During their searches, police also seized several human-like dummies that were used for target practice and made to resemble people from various ethnic groups.

Some law enforcement officials privately questioned why the LAPD arrested the suspected militia members only on weapons charges, allowing them to post bail rather easily--especially, they said, after the department told the public the suspects were extremely dangerous.

“Something doesn’t smell right,” said one law enforcement authority who asked not to be identified. “Did they jump the gun? Do they have bona fide targets? Or was the LAPD looking for publicity?”

Typically, anti-terrorist investigations in Southern California are conducted by a multi-agency task force that includes local and federal agencies such as the FBI.

An FBI spokesman declined to comment, referring all questions to the LAPD.

People who know Durand said the Santa Clarita bagel shop manager is a soft-spoken professional, “the nicest guy in the world.”

“A lot of times he just came in to talk and to show me pictures of his family from up north in Oregon someplace,” said Eddie May, a clerk at the Valencia Newsstand, next door to the Western Bagel Too bagel shop Durand managed. “He was an easygoing guy.”

May said Durand, who he said looked like “the outdoor type,” bought numerous hunting and fishing magazines and often checked the gun price guide.

Yee works and lives on a lot behind a drive-through dairy store and next to a Montessori school on Foothill Boulevard in San Dimas.

A neighbor who asked not to be identified said Yee lives in a mobile home in front of his auto repair shop, Glenn’s Porsche Service.

Though the shop was closed when a reporter visited Saturday, eight Porsches were parked in the dirt lot in front of the repair area.

Yee’s neighbor said the business had been at the site for 25 years, and that many in the neighborhood know and like Yee. According to the neighbor, he lives in the mobile home with his girlfriend.

Times staff writer Peter Y. Hong contributed to this story.