Pasadena Police, Federal Agents Seize Nine Weapons in Weapons Sweep

Pasadena Police officers teamed with agents from the Department of Justice during a five-day sweep to remove guns from people legally barred from possessing them in Los Angeles County.

Locally, nine firearms were seized during the DOJ weapon’s sweep last week. Seven additional firearms were seized by Pasadena officers during the same week resulting in 16 firearms taken off the streets in one week.

“Pasadena Police Department is eager to partner with the California Department of Justice in an effort to stop gun violence,” said Police Chief Cheryl Moody. “This collaboration will certainly benefit those communities most impacted by individuals who illegally possess or use firearms.”

The sweep resulted in 13 arrests and the seizure of 114 firearms across the county, the California Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

The seizures included assault weapons, “ghost guns,” handguns, rifles, and shotguns.

Also seized were more than 49,000 rounds of ammunition and 87 high-capacity magazines, authorities said.

Agents from the DOJ’s Bureau of Firearms also partnered with personnel from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Los Angeles County Probation Department, and officers from the Azusa, Los Angeles and Pomona police departments.

The sweep targeted people in 51 cities in the county who are prohibited from possessing firearms under the DOJ’s Armed and Prohibited Persons System, Attorney General Rob Bonta said.

“California’s Armed and Prohibited Persons System is a critical tool that makes the work of cracking down on illegal gun ownership and possession possible,” Bonta said. “… Collaborative efforts like these increase our success in taking guns out of potentially dangerous hands, reducing gun violence, and keeping our neighborhoods safe,” he added.

In 2006, California became the only state in the nation to establish a system for tracking firearm owners who fall into a prohibited status.

The APPS database works to identify individuals who lawfully procured firearms and later became prohibited from owning or possessing them. In general, prohibited persons in APPS include individuals who were convicted of a felony or a violent misdemeanor, were placed under a domestic violence or other restraining order, or suffer from serious mental illness.