A 20-year-old Indiana man was charged today with three felonies and one misdemeanor, including unlawful possession of an assault weapon and explosives, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
James Wesley Howell (dob 3/31/96) is scheduled to be arraigned today in Department W30 at the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Airport Branch. He is charged in case SA093159. Prosecutors will ask that his bail be set at $2 million.
Deputy District Attorney Sean Carney with the Arson and Explosives Section is prosecuting the case.
Howell is charged with one felony count each of unlawful possession of an assault weapon, possession of a destructive device on a public street and manufacturing or importing large magazine and one misdemeanor count of carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle.
Howell was arrested about 5 a.m. Sunday in the 1700 block of 11th Street, near Olympic Boulevard by Santa Monica police officers. Howell was found near his car when officers responded to a report of a man knocking on a resident’s door and window.
If convicted, Howell faces up to nine years, eight months in local custody.
The investigation is ongoing.
