'AK-47 Bandit' robs banks all over Western US

[jpak]

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020149151_apcaak47bandit.html

The FBI says tips leading to the arrest of the `AK-47 Bandit,' who has robbed banks all over the western U.S., could result in a $100,000 reward.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller says the same man appears to have shot a Chino police officer at one bank robbery in February, before robbing banks in Northern California, Idaho and Washington.

The suspect carries an assault rifle similar to an AK-47 into the banks.

After robbing the California Bank & Trust in Chino, the suspect is believed to have robbed a Vacaville Bank of the West on March 12. He may have also tried to rob a bank in Sacramento a few days earlier.

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But we have been told that assault rifles are not a problem...

What a crock.

yup

[Eleanors38]

1. He's behind the times. I believe the aspersion de jour is now Glock.

[Taverner]

2. Yeah, and you absolutely MUST hold it sideways

Otherwise all the other bank robbers laugh at you

[regjoe]

4. Now THAT is funny!

[Eleanors38]

9. Peculiar posture, that. Then again w/britches down to the knees, style takes a holiday!

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. "Pack a Glock if you're short of *ock"

[jpak]

14. a smell sig line!

[KansDem]

3. "But we have been told that assault rifles are not a problem... "

It's true! He could have robbed them with a hammer!

Gimme the cash in the till or I'll unload my Black and Decker!

[jpak]

5. and when police arrived, he turned the hammer on himself...

[KansDem]

6. That's because he saw the police had hammers...

[jpak]

8. and they were wearing these...

[jmg257]

12. Don't care who you are - that shit is funny! :) nt

[jpak]

13. Can't touch this...

[jmg257]

16. LOL! BIG smile! nt

Cheers!

[KansDem]

17. The question remains; do they use...

Single-action hammers:


Or automatics!

[jpak]

20. with brazillian round magazines!!!111

[sanatanadharma]

27. I want that...

...anti-bullet force field-magic gold dhoti street wear cloth.
Then no one will call me "sir".

[madinmaryland]

7. That brings new meaning to the phrase, "getting hammered"

[Undaunted]

11. Robbing banks is romantic, but it just isn't a profitable proposition anymore.

[Recursion]

18. Unless you're the CEO

Then it's pretty damn profitable

[Undaunted]

19. Good one.

[Recursion]

15. Right, because a bank robber is going to think "oh, damn, this gun is *illegal* for me to own!" (nt)

[The Magistrate]

21. Rather Beside the Point Though, Sir, Is It Not, When You Come To Think On the Thing?

If the item is illegal to possess, certain things follow.

Holding it is a separate crime, with an additional sentence on conviction. It is quite common for criminals to behave in a manner that, while still criminal, does mitigate their exposure to consequences if caught.

The thing would have to be acquired on an illegal black market. This would drive the money cost of possessing it up considerably, as the supplier would be subject to criminal penalties if caught, and would price according to risk undertaken.

Markets like this are a very risky swamp; the buyer has no assurance that, when tendering money for a lethal weapon, he will not be robbed ( after all, the one thing known is that the buyer has money, and wants a weapon he does not have ), nor is it unheard of for sellers in such a market to arrange for the arrest of casual buyers, so they can pass as informants to police and so maintain immunity in selling to steady clients. A person might find himself, or consider himself, priced out of the market for the item, either in terms of money or of willingness to voluntarily undertake risk not essential to his project, from the very start.

[Recursion]

22. I'm not convinced of the black market argument

The thing would have to be acquired on an illegal black market. This would drive the money cost of possessing it up considerably

Or, as we saw with alcohol in the 1920s, price would stay roughly the same (or even drop) while quality would plummet.

Markets like this are a very risky swamp; the buyer has no assurance that, when tendering money for a lethal weapon, he will not be robbed

I consider it a safe bet that by the time someone is robbing banks, he has already navigated several illegal transactions, generally including for the gun he uses.

[The Magistrate]

24. Try Entering one Sometime, Sir

The prohibition line does not work well, in this instance, unless you are talking pure con work. Selling cheap home-made hootch as imported scotch is a relatively easy thing to maintain as you still are selling the active ingredient in adequate proportion. Making the quality of a mechanism drop, and doing so in a way that brings increased profit to the seller, would be trickier. Of course, the market could operate to shift people to a lesser grade of fire-arm, but that would carry my point, rather than yours; people would be buying something other than 'assault weapon' knock-offs, but paying a price closer to the former's formerly legal price than they would have before.

Bank robbery actually is often a fairly amateur endeavor, especially bank robbery of the 'guy walks in, says this is a robbery' sort. It is not a safe assumption a person who does this has learned the ins and outs of dealing in a cut-throat market where the one thing you cannot do if a deal goes bad is call the cops.

[LAGC]

23. I'm Not So Sure About That, Sir.

Holding it is a separate crime, with an additional sentence on conviction. It is quite common for criminals to behave in a manner that, while still criminal, does mitigate their exposure to consequences if caught.

Using a firearm in the commission of a felony is already a serious enhancement in most states. I'm not sure what would be accomplished by an additional charge of mere possession of a particularly banned gun. Can't imagine it having much of a deterrent effect when someone is so willing to fragrantly break laws against armed robbery.

Unless you think we should ban guns altogether, and hand out Life sentences to anyone who possesses.

[The Magistrate]

25. And a Great Many Felonies, Sir, Are Committed Without Employing Fire-Arms

There are some, of course, in which a gun offers such advantage it is worth the extra risk. But even there, there are gradations. An armed robbery which is accomplished simply by display of a firearm in a waistband, or pulled it of a pocket just enough to be seen ( which is fairly common in police blotters ), will be treated differently then one in which the gun is pointed straight in someone's face and explicit threats are made.

It is also true that the various enhancements are often foregone in plea bargaining, or for other process reasons, and this lessens their deterrent value.

[Remmah2]

26. You call that guy a bank robber?

He ain't Wall Street enough.