luvhoops34
09-26-2007, 08:36 AM
Convicted burglar nabbed with rocket launcher
Four rifles, a handgun and ammo seized from Port Lavaca apartment
September 26, 2007 - Posted at 12:00 a.m.
BY LOUISE POPPLEWELL - VICTORIA ADVOCATE
PORT LAVACA - Federal agents and local SWAT team kicked down a door and stormed into the downstairs apartment of a convicted burglar who had a rocket launcher early Tuesday morning.
The Light Anti-tank Weapon rocket launcher, described by Calhoun Sheriff B.B. Browning as an "anti-tank device used to shoot explosives," was found in the search on Holiday Lane.
Before the search was over, the 12 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive agents and six-member Calhoun sheriff's SWAT team seized the launcher, four rifles, a handgun and several boxes of ammunition.
Paul Henry Ledwik, 31, was arrested without incident on a charge of felon in possession of firearms warrant issued by a federal judge in Corpus Christi.
As it turned out, the launcher posed no threat, but the men making the search didn't know that when they burst through the door.
"We had no idea what it was," said Browning.
The green cylinder measures about 21/2-feet in length when closed and extends to 4 feet when open, Browning said.
"It's a shoulder firearm, a one-time rocket launcher," explained Rick Miller, acting agent in charge of the Corpus Christi ATF office. "You use it once and throw it away. To my knowledge, there's no way to reload it. It wouldn't fire again."
Browning described Ledwik as, "a man who loves guns and loves to hunt, but he's not supposed to be doing it. He can't even get a hunting license, but he hunts anyway. I have no idea where he gets the guns."
Browning notified the federal agents about the rocket launcher after getting a tip. It led to a joint investigation by the two departments and resulted in the search warrant.
The tip came from someone who saw the launcher in Ledwik's apartment, the sheriff said.
Miller said he does not know how Ledwik obtained the launcher, "but it had to be through the military."
Browning added, "Because it had not been de-militarized, it is illegal for anyone to own it."
Ledwik, who is unemployed, has served prison time for 10 convictions of burglary in Calhoun County.
Miller said Ledwik "probably faces additional charges."
Ledwik is being held in Aransas County Jail, a federal holding facility, until he is transferred to Corpus Christi where he will go before a judge, most likely this afternoon, the agent said.
http://media.thevictoriaadvocate.com/smedia/2007/09/26/00/629-rocketlauncher092607.standalone.prod_affiliate.31. jpg
http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com/428/story/127475.html
Four rifles, a handgun and ammo seized from Port Lavaca apartment
September 26, 2007 - Posted at 12:00 a.m.
BY LOUISE POPPLEWELL - VICTORIA ADVOCATE
PORT LAVACA - Federal agents and local SWAT team kicked down a door and stormed into the downstairs apartment of a convicted burglar who had a rocket launcher early Tuesday morning.
The Light Anti-tank Weapon rocket launcher, described by Calhoun Sheriff B.B. Browning as an "anti-tank device used to shoot explosives," was found in the search on Holiday Lane.
Before the search was over, the 12 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive agents and six-member Calhoun sheriff's SWAT team seized the launcher, four rifles, a handgun and several boxes of ammunition.
Paul Henry Ledwik, 31, was arrested without incident on a charge of felon in possession of firearms warrant issued by a federal judge in Corpus Christi.
As it turned out, the launcher posed no threat, but the men making the search didn't know that when they burst through the door.
"We had no idea what it was," said Browning.
The green cylinder measures about 21/2-feet in length when closed and extends to 4 feet when open, Browning said.
"It's a shoulder firearm, a one-time rocket launcher," explained Rick Miller, acting agent in charge of the Corpus Christi ATF office. "You use it once and throw it away. To my knowledge, there's no way to reload it. It wouldn't fire again."
Browning described Ledwik as, "a man who loves guns and loves to hunt, but he's not supposed to be doing it. He can't even get a hunting license, but he hunts anyway. I have no idea where he gets the guns."
Browning notified the federal agents about the rocket launcher after getting a tip. It led to a joint investigation by the two departments and resulted in the search warrant.
The tip came from someone who saw the launcher in Ledwik's apartment, the sheriff said.
Miller said he does not know how Ledwik obtained the launcher, "but it had to be through the military."
Browning added, "Because it had not been de-militarized, it is illegal for anyone to own it."
Ledwik, who is unemployed, has served prison time for 10 convictions of burglary in Calhoun County.
Miller said Ledwik "probably faces additional charges."
Ledwik is being held in Aransas County Jail, a federal holding facility, until he is transferred to Corpus Christi where he will go before a judge, most likely this afternoon, the agent said.
http://media.thevictoriaadvocate.com/smedia/2007/09/26/00/629-rocketlauncher092607.standalone.prod_affiliate.31. jpg
http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com/428/story/127475.html