The Associated Press reports that a “Navy sailor” (as opposed to an Army sailor, I suppose) was arrested in Connecticut for possessing a scary-looking weapon they called an AK47. They said he was disgruntled. I’m sure if they start arresting sailors for being disgruntled, the jails will fill up fairly quickly;
Cory Dion Caldwell, 24, kept the rifle under his bed in the barracks at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, according to an arrest warrant. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service opened an investigation after an informant told them about the weapon and said Caldwell made statements that were anti-government and anti-military.
Yeah, I’m sure I can count on one finger the number of people I’ve known who were in the military and didn’t make anti-government and anti-military statements.
DePasquale said that authorities who searched Caldwell’s home in Waterford found the assault rifle along with a gas mask, a .50-caliber handgun, two .45-caliber handguns and high-capacity ammunition clips for the AK-47 that could hold up to 50 rounds apiece.
“It makes you wonder,” [Waterford police Sgt. Joseph] DePasquale said. “Finding stuff like that obviously increased our concern. Our concern is whatever’s motivating him to stockpile stuff like this.”
In West Virginia that’s called “what you get for your 14th birthday”. And I didn’t know that they made “clips” for AK47s.
…DePasquale said Caldwell was “very disgruntled and anti-military” and there was concern of potential violence, but there was no evidence that Caldwell planned to harm anyone.
Yet they had him in court in shackles and put a $200k bail on him. He shouldn’t have had the weapon in CT where scary-looking guns are illegal, but the reaction of this particular police officer is irrational. What “makes you wonder”? I like scary-looking weapons with high capacity magazines. I have no intention of ever shooting anyone, but it’s comforting to know that if I have to take on a roving band of zombies, i can hold my own.
But Cory Caldwell shouldn’t have smuggled the scary-looking rifle into back-ass-wards Connecticut and certainly not brought it to the barracks. And if that puny arsenal frightened police sergeant Joseph DePasquale, he probably shouldn’t look in my gun safe.
They don’t make “clips” for the AK 47 that “hold up to 50 rounds apiece”. You have your choice of 30, 40, or 75 round drum mags. Fricken morons would probably wet their collective diapers if they were at the HHC this coming Saturday.
Army Transportation Corps has sailors, but now that the ships were signed over to the Navy by the former CSA, I suppose those soldiers will become Navy sailors.
You forgot the most important present for a 14th birthday: fishin’-grenades. Beats noodling.
Or under any bed, closet, behind doors, in the safe and out in the shop. Having been a cop for 25 yrs my reaction would be to congratulate him on his choice weaponry and invite him to the range…Not wet my pants.
What is the difference in “Stockpiling” and “Collecting”?
.50 cal handgun? Probably a blackpowder, ball and cap antique or replica, (I want one). .45 cal. Handguns? Like my Bond Arms “Ranger” Derringer, (entirely for self protection), or like a Taurus Arms “Judge”, (also entirely for self protection).
They’d have a conniption if they saw the Arms Safe in any of a dozen or more of my neighbors houses around here. And anti-gummint statements? Don’t tap my phone, read my FB page, or even my comments at TAH. I think the whole damned bunch of elected officials nationally, from county to federal should be put on the street next election.
@gruntsgt LOL, unfortuantely, here in the lovely blue state of Connecticut, the sight of an evil “assault rifle” or high capacity, umm, clip is enough to make authorities wet themselves.
He’d have a coronary if he saw the “stockpile” belonging to The Armor of Castle Argghh!….
That’s why I left CT for the Army 25 years ago. BTW…I believe the Judge is .45 Colt and 410 Shot..as compared to .45 ACP.
DePasquale is a Sergeant? I wonder how he got that promotion? Doesn’t he know the difference between magazines and clips? Proper nomeclature of parts of a weapon/firearm is fundamental. As a Texan, I see nothing wrong with what this Sailor had in his possession. Grant it he shouldn’t have had it in the barracks. This is probably against base policy. I know whne I lived in hte barracks while in the Aif Force, I had to keep my weapons in the armory, or at a friends house.
@# Elric:
You would be correct on the Ammo for the “Judge”, Actually called “.45 Long Colt”, on one of the boxes of it that I have. Still, a .45 caliber handgun, just as is the .45 Bond Arms series. Long Colt has enough more oomph than the .45 ACP to make it one of my favorite revolver rounds.
“It makes you wonder,” [Waterford police Sgt. Joseph] DePasquale said. “Finding stuff like that obviously increased our concern. Our concern is whatever’s motivating him to stockpile stuff like this.”
In my case it is because I can afford it ! No AK-47s I just don’t like them. But I enjoy hunting toys and I don’t hunt. As for the 50 cal they do make a Desert Eagle . Nope don’t have one of those either .
Still According to CT I guess I have a stockpile.
And I just shoot for fun.
I live in Texas and I am still not sure Local Law Enforcement is thrilled about all the guns that are out here.
Magnum Research does offer the infamous Desert Eagle in a .50 cal version if you are feeling extra froggy.
@KJR Heh, take it from a former cop, most of them don’t know jack about firearms — when I was on the job we were only required to qualify twice a year. And the only weapons we’re exposed to we’re our service weapons, a Beretta 92 9mm pistol and Remington 870p 12ga shotgun.
I would assume (hope) training standards are higher now since shotguns seem to be giving way to M-4 carbines (cringe).
Four guns is a stockpile? Of course, this assclown is probably one of those out-of-state flatlander dipshits who goes moose hunting up here and shoots some farmer’s cow instead. (Don’t laugh–I’ve seen it.)
CT is a weird state you cant own a Semi AK, but a Machinegun (as long as its only Full Auto), Silencer, Short Barrel rifles and shotguns are allowed with a permit. I can Own an M2HB but not a AR-15 (which is made by Colt in CT)
….I used to tell the soldiers in Iraq that when they “detained” a local, the soliders could not call the weapons they had a “cache” unless it was more weapons than I had in my garage.
BTW, all the weapons I have are legal….but I suppose some anti freedom nuts might not know that.
(Anti Freedom Nuts are those who are against the 2nd Admn)
S.G. Semi AK’s and AR’s are fine in CT. and have been for a while. I own quite a “Stockpile” of both and interestingly enough I often shoot with Waterford and Groton PD. Still trying to figure out how Waterford got involved with weapons tho towns away and across a large river but this happens pretty often. Either he flaunted the weapons and a neighbor called it in and he overreacted when the cops arrived or he started talking stupid in the only gun store in the area and was reported. I have seen both many times. The locals did draw weapons on me a few years ago on my property and pretty seriously overreact to the situation when it was found I owned firearms. I seriously don’t believe they would make that mistake again so soon. I’ll have to check up when I get home
I don’t have time to read the whole article, but if NCIS chose to execute a search warrant, there is likely more to this. If he had those weapons in the armory, I would have no concern with the facts as they are now. Under his rack in the barracks concerns me. I’ve seen sailors do stupid stuff in the barracks after knock off when the beer starts flowing.
Interesting to watch and see what unfolds. Thanks Jonn.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who is annoyed by this “clip” horseshit.
Question,
How many guns did Hasan have? Wasn’t it 2 .45’s?
Old Tanker; Hasan had 2 FN 5.7mm pistols that have a mag capacity of 30 rounds. Those pistols aren’t cheap (around $1000 each) and the ammo isn’t cheap, either, because only one company makes it (5.7×28).
SC..quite correct. I’ve only shot a buddy’s Judge once… it’s on my bucket list but not yet.
Hassan probably put those guns on a credit card since he wasn’t going to be around to pay the bill.
It would be ironic (if it wasn’t so jacked up) that CT has probably more defense related companies then anywhere else. I guess its too expensive to move.
My experience with police officers and other LEOs on the range has been mixed. Some guys in our IDPA club were pretty good. Some of the DEA/ICE/Border guys on the adjacent ranges were downright scary. Don’t get me going about the installation rent a cops. They are no threat to anyone but themselves.
Old Trooper,
The point I was trying to make was that the article is pretty incomplete. Before I call it over reacting I’d like to know more. What this guy had is more than what Hasan needed to shoot up Ft. Hood and given recent developements with the other assclown that was plotting to blowup Ft. Hood I’ll give NCIS the benefit of the doubt, especially if he was making anti military statements…again, pretty damn vague. As Jonn pointed out, find me a sailor who wasn’t disgruntled at some point. Of course, if those statements went as far as Hasan’s???? We took the Army to task on this blog for not taking Hasan seriously prior to his shooting rampage….didn’t we?
Elric:
Shot the Judge model? Same frame, 6 1/2″ barrel makes it the “TrackerB”, (actually the model that I have but get tired of trying to explain this to people), and just a tad more accurate at a longer distance. Not as concealable, but when the chips are down………
http://www.taurususa.com/product-details.cfm?id=200&category=Revolver&toggle=&breadcrumbseries=
Check it out.
Old Tanker; yeah, we took the Army to task over Hasan, but I think there was a difference there with what we have here. Hasan was very open and beligerent with his statements and was promoted for it. Plus, he was on jihadi websites and in contact with a known terrorist. It sounds like they are admitting that this guy hasn’t done much, other than bitch and sneek a banned gun into CT.
As Jonn also pointed out, the cop that was quoted sounded like a Nancyboy straight out of drama class. Should the cops take the guy serious? I don’t know; what did he say? The amount of firepower sounds really scary to taint hurt cops and the media, but it isn’t that impressive compared to others I know.
I read the reports and am left to wonder precisely where the rifle was found. It was found either under his bed in the barracks or in his Waterford home. I don’t know squat about the Navy but I never heard a bed called a bed in any war movie involving the Navy. (For that matter, I never knew sailors slept in a barracks.) Also, is it commonplace in the Navy for a sailor to be quartered on post and off post at the same time? I dunno. Let me know, if you care to.
Old Trooper
I don’t really know if there was a difference, the article just doesn’t give enough detail….you may very well be right but we just don’t know for sure. I’m just willing to hold fire until there’s a little more detail, one way or the other….
From the Hartford Current Newspaper:
“When Caldwell bought the gun in April at a Providence gun shop, he was told that it was banned in Connecticut and that he could not ship it there, according to the affidavit. Instead, Caldwell had the rifle shipped to Georgia, where he later picked it up, smuggled it into Connecticut, according to the affidavit.. On Wednesday, NCIS members searched Caldwell’s Willetts Avenue home and found, among other things, a Saiga Legion 7.62 x 39mm rifle with six ammunition clips and 12 boxes of ammunition. Police also seized a .50-caliber handgun and two .45-caliber handguns.Members of the Connecticut State Police Special Licensing and Firearms Unit in Meriden said the assault rifle was a semi-automatic capable of “accepting detachable ammunition magazines”. The rifle also has a pistol grip and a collapsing telescoping stock, according to the affidavit.”
12 whole boxes of ammunition!?!? Wow!!! I’m assuming they are the standard 20 round boxes of ammo, which means he has a whole 240 rounds. I guess they could consider that a lot; I, personally, call that danger low, but that’s just me. Plus, ammunition clips aren’t a worry. Now, if they were magazines, then it would be worthy of mention.
So, the paper interchanges clips and magazines in the same story, which shows, once again, that they aren’t interested in journalism but rather sensationalism. Accuracy and facts are so 1950s.
“the assault rifle was a semi-automatic capable of “accepting detachable ammunition magazines”. The rifle also has a pistol grip and a collapsing telescoping stock, according to the affidavit.””. Holy shit, this guy was stockpiling a rifle with the capability to accept “detachable ammunition magazines”? Much like my Remington mod. 742? That settles it, he’s a terrorist. And he “smuggled” the weapon into Ct? I bet they wouldn’t haven’t been worried if the BATFE had sold it to him.
UpNorth said: “I bet they wouldn’t haven’t been worried if the BATFE had sold it to him.”
The BATFE wouldn’t have been able to find it, if they had sold it to him.
Old Trooper they would have found it if it was on the border and used it as an excuse as to why the military shouldn’t be allowed to own personal guns.
First off the old biker gang rule is in effect three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead.
My teenage kids know that one. OKAY so Its is a joke so the relatives keep out of our family business. The Family I trust sort of but not everyone needs to know when we go out of town.
I would bet this young guy was Bragging about what he had,and is exactly the kind of guy I would avoid at the gun range. Or get into a conversation with at a gun store.
He has his own self to blame for getting caught.
I don’t know about the rest of the folks here but the last thing I want to be around is something that even knowing about can cost me some legal fees
Hi
Gun control is now the major subject of the world. And it harms for everyone.
(Somebody really needs to check the latch on that freakin’ door…)
PintoNag. Well it do harms for everyone. Do for you not? ( (Sorry friend, but now you know what happens when one stares at the mercadian wizzleflot. I hope you did not gaze at it.)
Nah, AirCav, I couldn’t. Laughing too hard, tears running down face, blurred vision…
Can’t help gazing at it, Air Ca, it floats everywhere.
And, OT, no they couldn’t have found it, until it showed up at a crime scene somewhere.
I’ve known cory for a long time. I just want everyone to know that hes a good person and he would never try to hurt anyone. He had those guns bc he was scared of what could happen one day.. Trust me if you do your research you’d be worried too. I dont want to say to much but I know he didn’t plan on hurting anyone. Like you said, he just wants to be able to hold his own if shit went down here in america. He shouldn’t have done something illegal but where do you draw the line when its your own safety? He’s not a threat! I’ve never even seen him lose control. I’ve known him for 8 years. We dated and never had an arguement. I feel sorry for him. Just pray.
Was the anti-military statement “FTN” by any chance?
It’s been over 15 years, but I don’t think any weapons were allowed in the Navy barracks. My last stay in any barracks was the NNSY barracks.
SAILOR investigated by NCIS … you have some splaining to do.
Having illegal weapons in a state that prohibits … you have even more splaining to do.
Bringing weapons to the base … you have even more than you can handle splaining to do.
Making a headline on TAH … Oh Sh*t … not the kind of press you want!
3364–you would be correct. I was in Pearl and San Diego, and guns weren’t allowed in the BEQ’s in either place (granted, same timeframe, but the rules probably haven’t loosened up since then.)
But to be fair, Master Chief–I bought a gun from one of the TM’s on my first boat and we went to the base armory TOGETHER with the bill of sale and checked it in. When I left, I pulled it, shipped it, and left it with my father.
NHSparky: As I recall, Army policy was much the same. In general (no pun regarding rank intended), privately owned weapons on post had to be stored in unit arms rooms. Store them in barracks/BEQ rooms? Not only no, but HELL no!
Can’t remember if officers got cut a break on this with any certainty, but I don’t think so. I believe this is still current policy today.
When I was in (76-84) I was required to check into, and store my weapons at the base armory. They did a thorough inspection, gave me a receipt, and told me I could pick them up at anytime, 24/7, as long as I was headed to the main gate and off base with them.
I never ever had a problem with storing them there.
We had to keep them in the arms room at Ft. Hood as well. The CO always said, “if you want to go shooting or hunting on the weekend, store them off post because he wasn’t coming in on his weekend to unlock the arms room….I don’t blame him!
I cherished as much as you will receive carried out proper here. The caricature is attractive, your authored material stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an edginess over that you wish be delivering the following. sick definitely come more formerly again as precisely the similar nearly very continuously inside of case you protect this hike.