Police find 1,200 guns at dead man’s Los Angeles house

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Police uncovered a cache of 1,200 guns and more than 2 tons of ammunition in the Los Angeles home of a man found dead nearby, and investigators are checking if he legally owned the weapons and whether any were used in a crime, officials said.

Officers made the discovery after the man’s body was found in a car in West Los Angeles on Friday, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.

Los Angeles County assistant chief coroner Ed Winter said the man, whose name has not been released, was already decomposing when found. An autopsy was planned for Tuesday or Wednesday.

The 1,200 firearms found at the man’s home included handguns, rifles and shotguns, police said. The weapons and 2 tons of ammunition were taken to the police department’s property division.

While there is no absolute limit to the number of guns a person can legally own in California, LAPD spokeswoman Officer Liliana Preciado said investigators will check who was the registered owner of the weapons and if any of the firearms have been linked to any crimes.

Detectives with a warrant entered the man’s home after the discovery of his body because they were looking for evidence that would explain his death, police said.

LAPD Commander Andrew Smith told the Los Angeles Times there were no immediate signs of foul play and that detectives were not investigating the death as a homicide.

The number of firearms at the house far exceeded the haul from a recent Los Angeles gun-buyback collection. On May 9, authorities rounded up 746 guns in exchange for supermarket gift cards they gave individuals who turned in the weapons, part a program intended to make the city’s streets safer.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Steve Gorman and Bill Trott)