Questions Raised in Fiery Standoff
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Federal agents knew for more than a year that a convicted felon had illegally bought thousands of rounds of ammunition, but didn't serve a search warrant until last week, The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
The disclosure raises questions about the investigation leading to a deadly standoff that began when officers tried to serve a warrant at the home of James Allen Beck on Aug. 31. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Hagop ``Jake'' Kuredjian was shot and killed, and Beck barricaded himself in his home and died in an ensuing fire.
Search warrant affidavits unsealed in response to a federal Freedom of Information Act request showed that a federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent learned in July 2000 that Beck had bought $1,513.34 worth of ammunition and gun paraphernalia from a Pasadena gun shop.
ATF agents also were told by neighbors that Beck had been stockpiling guns at his home in an upscale Santa Clarita neighborhood, the Times reported.
Bernard J. Zapor, assistant special agent in charge of the ATF's Southern California division, told the Times that he could not discuss why the bureau waited 14 months before conducting its search for illegal weapons. An internal review of the shootout is ongoing, Zapor said, and the agency will not comment until it is completed.
The ATF has said there was no reason to believe that Beck would open fire on law enforcement officers serving the warrant.
The Sheriff's Department is conducting a separate homicide investigation into Kuredjian's death. The investigation has raised questions about whether Kuredjian was shot by Beck or another officer.
Beck, 35, a convicted felon who allegedly impersonated a U.S. marshal and was building a weapons cache, was on parole at the time of the shootout following three convictions for burglary, receiving stolen property and possession of an assault weapon.
Originally published September 08, 2001.
