John Popper arrested with "arsenal"

J

jimpeel

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He was even noted in the Pro-Gun Celebrities? thread
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=499724&postcount=36 as being pro-RKBA.

A pic of the "cache" is attached. I don't see anything illegal there. The cops did, however, take the opportunity to seize :mad: a very nice, and expensive, Mercedes Benz SUV. Gee, I wonder what the motivation for that could have been? :barf: It didn't sound, from the story, as though they had enough drugs to effect a seizure; but we are talking about a Mercedes SUV, now, aren't we?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,257638,00.html

SPOKANE, Wash. — Blues Traveler singer and harmonica player John Popper was arrested after the vehicle he was riding in was clocked going 111 mph, the Washington State Patrol said Wednesday.

Popper, 39, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on Interstate 90 near the Spokane/Lincoln county line, the Washington State Patrol said.

Inside the black Mercedes SUV, officers found a cache of weapons and a small amount of marijuana, the Patrol said. A police dog searched the vehicle, finding numerous hidden compartments containing four rifles, nine handguns and a switchblade knife. Authorities also found a Taser and night vision goggles. The vehicle was seized.

Popper, who lives in Snohomish, Wash., is the owner of the vehicle, which was being driven by Brian Gourgeois, 34, of Austin, Texas, said state patrol Trooper Jeff Sevigney. The vehicle also had flashing emergency headlights, a siren and a public address system, the Patrol said.

"Popper indicated to troopers that he had installed these items in his vehicle because (in the event of a natural disaster) he didn't want to be left behind," the Patrol said in a news release. He also told officers he collected weapons, the Patrol said.

The two men were booked administratively into the Adams County jail and released on their own recognizance. Authorities plan to charge them with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Gourgeois will also face a charge of reckless driving, the Patrol said.

Popper did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment Wednesday night.

Popper achieved fame as a harmonica player and frontman for Blues Traveler. The band won a Grammy award in 1996 for the song "Run-around," which Popper composed.

Popper recently formed a group called The John Popper Project with DJ Logic, which released an album in 2006 and is scheduled to go on the road later this month.

© 2007 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Gee, I wonder what the motivation for that could have been? It didn't sound, from the story, as though they had enough drugs to effect a seizure; but we are talking about a Mercedes SUV, now, aren't we?
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To be fair, it could have been based entirely on the gross violation of speed. Impound of a vehicle in that situation is not unheard of. Additionally, lights and sirens could make the vehicle illegal.
 
I know that in CA it is an automatic arrest for speed over 100 mph.

Having flashing headlights, which is what the story said, is illegal in some, but not all, states.

Usually there is a mechanical violation written for illegal devices and the fix is to remove them; go to traffic court; have the car inspected by the marshal to determine compliance; pay your fine; and go home.

Alternating headlamp flasher kits, as well as other alternating flasher kits, are available from J.C. Whitney.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Search?catalogId=10101&storeId=10101&sku=flasher
 
Can not say about Washington but in N.C. flashing headlights are illegal except offical emergency vechiles as well as sirens. The charge would be inpersonating an officer.
 
Hey he has one of our CoPilots
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So, does it have a secret compartment for an emergency harmonica? :p

Seriously, driving 111 in any vehicle on the highway, full of drugs and guns or not, is just asking for trouble.
 
Well

The news reported that his guns were legal. The smoke wasn't however. That stuff just makes you temporarily stupid. Hope he gets his guns back after rehab, he is a great singer.
 
Jesus, when are they just going to legalize that stuff? It clearly had nothing to do with the violation--otherwise the speed would be closer to 10mph. :D
 
I admire his taste in firearms.

Where was the ammo though? With that kind of SHTF arsenal I would expect a few boxes laying around. Kinda worthless without.
 
I'm fairly sure Popper was one of the morbidly obese musicians that was "missing" after Katrina. The famous 50's singer who's name I can't remember died in the filthy soup, but this guy made it out somehow.

An experience like that tends to make people more concered about their survival in bad situations.

It's a little odd that he would take these kinds of extreme precautions in WA, but Ranier is a few hundered years overdue for a disasterous lahar (huge wall of volcanic mud heading for the sea) and tsunamis are always a threat over there...
 
Jesus, when are they just going to legalize that stuff? It clearly had nothing to do with the violation--otherwise the speed would be closer to 10mph.
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HAHA! Treeeeeee!!!!!! Oh wait thats the pine scented air freshener.
 
He deserves whatever he gets, for not causing anybody any harm?
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He was doing 111mph down a highway with a high mortality rate here in WA. Who knows who he could have killed if he had not been pulled over.

As far as the knives go...who cares what he had.

As far as the guns go...who cares what he had as long as they are legally his. Good for him.

As far as the trace amount of drugs...who cares in my opinion.

Doing 111mph on a highway with families, mother, fathers, etc...throw the book at him and take his car, his license, etc. At this point it stopped being about personal choice and started being about endangering innocent people.
 
And that's why I'm not a big fan of the Washington State Patrol. Those guys are dicks from my experience. I got in an accident on SR 14 up there in Skamania County and the sheriffs told me to go home, the state patrol came by and gave me a ticket for "driving with wheels off the roadway" and then tried to say that there was more than 700 dollars worth of damage to my vehicle when all I needed was a new bumper. Not to mention how badly they botched the investigation when my mother got hit. Now don't get me wrong, going 111 on a public road is just asking to kill someone and he should have been pulled over and arrested, but to make that big a deal out of the guns in the car?
 
Doing 20 mph over the posted limit is an arrestable offense in AK. However, given the conditions of our roads in general it's understandable why.

Doing 111 mph on a roadway and in a vehicle capable of handling the speed, I have no problem with it. The Germans do it all the time on the autobahn.

Now, doing something that brings you unwanted attention from the po-lice while in possession of items-legal or not- that'll get you greater scrutiny is well..........just dumb.:rolleyes:
 
Facts, reckless speed on public highways. No one killed? Pure luck. or good Law Enforcement. Guns in car? Stupid, but not illegal. Media loves to put guns and drugs together. Why give the bastards the ammo? Pot? Law is stupid making it illegal, but even if legal would be violation to drive while high. Bottom line? Guy did several stupid (and illegal) things while in a vehicle on a public road. Should get the max for public stupidity.
 
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