2 Charged For Walking In Body Armor, With Assault Rifles Through Inglewood

INGLEWOOD (CBSLA.com/AP) — Two Los Angeles men are in custody Wednesday on weapons violations charges after they walked around the Inglewood area wearing body armor and carrying rifles.

Edmon Washington, 35, and Brook Lindsey, 34, were arrested about 7 a.m. Tuesday near Foothill Boulevard and Terra Bella Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Both men were booked on suspicion of possession of assault rifles, and each was being held on $35,000 bail, LAPD Officer Jane Kim said.

No court date was immediately set for their arraignment.

Residents began calling 911 shortly after midnight to report the two men, Inglewood police Lt. Greg Held said.

While the two carried weapons, they didn't threaten anyone, and officers decided to avoid confrontation and just monitor them, Held said.

At one point the men showed their guns off to a television news cameraman. They said the weapons, which appeared to be AR-15 assault rifles, were not loaded. In California, openly carrying an unloaded firearm is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.

Broadcast footage showed the men, who are black, pacing through dark, empty streets, the guns slung over their shoulders, occasionally decrying racism and white supremacy.

"Let it be known that this is a peaceful protest and I'm within my constitutional rights," one of the men shouted at TV cameras. "So if they violate that, that just goes to show how phony they are."

Los Angeles police began monitoring the pair when they crossed into that city around 3 a.m.

After seeing the video of the men "with what appeared to be assault rifles, body armor, and Kevlar helmets," officials decided to detain and question them, LAPD Deputy Chief Bob Green told reporters.

Police in a half-dozen patrol cars tracked the men and pulled over their black sedan around 7 a.m. The men got out of the car, but initially failed to comply with the officers' commands. Police used a non-lethal device — apparently rubber bullets — in taking the driver into custody. The passenger sat down on a curb and was taken into custody.

A search warrant was later served at a Panorama City apartment where one of the suspects is believed to live. Two assault rifles were found in the residence, police said.

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