L.A. Pride Suspect Had 25Lbs Of Explosives, Loaded Semi-Automatic Rifles, In His Car

Self proclaimed "sociopath" James Wesley Howell was also wanted in Indiana for molesting a young girl.
From: NewNowNext

 The same day America learned of the horror that occurred at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, a similar massacre was narrowly avoided on the other side of the country in Santa Monica, where police found loaded assault rifles, rounds of ammunition and 25 pounds of explosive chemicals in a white Acura sedan belonging to James Wesley Howell.

Howell, who said he was on his way to L.A. Pride, also had a Taser, handcuffs, a buck knife, a canister of gasoline, a security badge and a black hood.

 “I cannot in good conscience think of any reasonable reason that somebody would be traveling across the country with all of these things,” said Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz, who set bail at $2 million dollars at a hearing on Tuesday.

Howell, 20, pleaded not guilty to three felony weapons counts, but also faces a string of charges from earlier incidents in his home state of Indiana.

On Wednesday he was charged with sexually abusing a young girl in Clark County last month and threatening to kill himself and members of his victim’s family.

 Howell, who told someone close to the victim he was “a sociopath with an automatic,” also threatened to kill police if they tried to arrest him.

It’s believed he he fled Indiana and headed toward California when he believed his capture for the molestation was imminent.

Last October, an ex-boyfriend accused Howell of pointing a rifle at him and threatening to pull the trigger—though no arrest was made.

The following day he was accused of pointing a loaded handgun at a neighbor. That time Howell was arrested, but just agreed to forfeit his weapons and plead guilty to a misdemeanor intimidation charge.

In February, he was pulled over for going more than 100 MPH in a 55 MPH zone. When the patrolman approached the car, though, Howell sped off—injuring the officer. (Howell shared video of the incident with his friends).

The Indiana Star reports Howell was discovered on Sunday with the following:

• Twenty-five pounds of Shoc-Shot, an explosive used for blowing up targets. The two components needed to make it explosive had been mixed.

• An Anderson Manufacturing AM-115 .223-caliber rifle. The rifle had a round in its chamber and additional rounds in a 30-round magazine attached to it. Another 30-round magazine was taped to the rifle.

• A .30-06 bolt-action rifle with a round in its chamber.

• A .22-caliber Ruger semi-automatic.

It’s not clear where Howell obtained the weapons or whether he did so legally. Deputy District Attorney Sean Carney said he believed the weapons were purchased by Howell’s father.

Friends interviewed by the newspaper say Howell never made any threats toward the LGBT community—but at least one ex-boyfriend said he wasn’t open about his sexuality.

“He didn’t like anybody to know about it,” said Zach Hambrick, 17, who met Howell on a dating app.

Their relationship soured quickly and the two haven’t spoken in months.

“After things went bad, that’s when he started getting violent with me,” said Hambrick, who admitted he wasn’t surprised about Howell’s arrest in Santa Monica.