'No indication the man was out to do any harm'

Horrific terrorist attack thwarted:

A motorist with 16 guns and at least 700 rounds of ammunition in his pickup truck was arrested Friday at a vehicle checkpoint as he entered Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said.

[ . . . ]

The man was arrested for investigation of felony transporation of an assault rifle, he said.

Or maybe not.

Holcomb said there was no indication the man was out to do any harm at the airport and was apparently there to pick up someone.

"He just made a very bad decision and should not have been carrying those weapons," Holcomb said.

As the man's rapidly deteriorating legal situation sinks in, I imagine he would agree.

I'm not going to try to argue that it's a good idea to drive up to Los Angeles International Airport with a truck full of guns and ammunition (I'm surprised the article made no breathless mention of an "arsenal," or "massive cache"), but I can't help but wonder how society is helped by locking up (for years) a man who did no harm, and apparently meant no harm.

Oh, and if that's not quite enough trouble for him:

The FBI, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Los Angeles Police Department are investigating whether the weapons were properly registered.

Now that's an efficient use of law enforcement assets--it only takes a large city police department and two federal agencies to determine whether or not the precious paperwork was done.

A later article has a few more details--the suspect's name, among them--(it also repeats the first article's "no indication the man intended to cause harm"), but I bring it up here because it quotes David Codrea's old friend.

"While much more must be learned, this incident demonstrates why security measures at LAX are so critical," said Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice).

Exactly, Jane--without such measures, this man might actually have gotten away with his non-intent to cause harm.