BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com
Gary R. Brown, 51, of Los Alamos was charged with receiving stolen property, tampering with evidence, possession of a controlled substance – crack cocaine, possession of a controlled substance – marijuana and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia Thursday following an early morning Los Alamos Police Department raid at his Sioux Street residence.
Kyle Smith, 30, also of Los Alamos, was also arrested and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. Smith appeared before Los Alamos Magistrate Judge Pat Casados, was fined $50 and released.
A statement of probable cause filed by LAPD Cpl. Jemuel Montoya, the assistant leader for the tactical operations team, states that LAPD officers arrived at Brown’s residence close to 6 a.m.. Montoya knocked on the door and announced that he had a search warrant. When there was no response, Montoya used a battering ram to break the lock and opened the door. A flash bang was then delivered into the front door.
Officers placed Brown and Smith in custody and detained two women who were in the residence at the time. While conducting a perimeter search of the home, officers found broken animal tusks. The statement of probable cause notes that the search warrant was “based on probable cause that stolen items such as African animal mounts, drugs, guns and other hunting souvenirs were in the home”. No affidavit or the arrest warrant has yet been placed in the Court records.
While searching the home, detectives found drugs and paraphernalia, Court documents state. Overall, a total of 13 pieces of bone were collected.
Court records also reflect that Brown was arrested April 2 by Montoya following a traffic stop that revealed that he had an invalid-revoked license and required an interlock device to operate a vehicle. He also had a felony warrant for his arrest from Rio Arriba County. During the April 2 arrest, Court records indicate two licenses were found that did not belong to Brown and a single shot shotgun that had been modified in an attempt to make it a pistol-grip shotgun. Also found were ammunition of various calibers, holsters to multiple guns that were empty and an air rifle as well as drugs and paraphernalia.
Brown was charged with possession of a controlled substance – heroin, possession of a controlled substance – methadone, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while license is suspended or revoked and speeding. He was released on his own recognizance under pretrial conditions of release and is scheduled for a status hearing in that case Friday, May 1.
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