geeze..check out the picture at the link..wild stuff..fact or fiction and on whose part...hummmmmmmmhttp://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-secret-service-chase,0,735045.storyStandoff Suspect Pleads Not Guilty to White House Threat
The suspect made an unspecified threat against the White House, according to a law enforcement source.
KTLA News
4:06 AM PDT, August 18, 2009
Suspect Arrested After 8 Hour Standoff (Los Angeles Times / August 13, 2009)
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WESTWOOD -- A man who staged a marathon standoff with police near Federal Building pleaded not guilty Monday to threatening to blow up the White House.
Joseph Moshe is charged with making a false bomb threat and attempted criminal threats.
Moshe was arrested late Thursday after a more than eight-hour standoff at Veteran Avenue south of Wilshire Boulevard, near the Westwood Federal Building.
After several refusals to surrender to officials, Moshe withstood four rounds of tear gas tossed through his car window before officers fired a taser gun at him.
Police pulled Moshe from the car's driver seat and took him into custody.
During the course of the standoff, police did not know if the man was armed, police Lt. Ruben de la Torre said.
Moshe is suspected of calling a police dispatch number Wednesday and making threatening statements about the White House.
Neighbors who did not want to be identified said Moshe "sounds like he could be dangerous," but he has never caused any significant trouble for them.
"He's got issues. He doesn't take his medication, he doesn't do that well," a neighbor said.
Neighbors said Secret Service agents in suits and driving government cars appeared on the street Wednesday night.
They tried to speak with Moshe, but he did not answer the door, neighbors said.
The chase began near Moshe's home in Westchester shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday.
Moshe got onto the northbound 405 Freeway and was followed by several units from the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division, as well as two LAPD helicopters.
Moshe exited the freeway at Wilshire Blvd. and drove into the parking lot of the Federal Building, located at 11000 Wilshire Blvd.
Police say Moshe appeared as though he was going to turn himself in but instead he turned around in the building's parking lot and tried to flee.
However, patrol units were able to block him in around 10:22 a.m.
Veteran Avenue was shut down during the standoff and occupants in two nearby passenger vehicles were safely removed from the scene.
The Federal Building had been locked down since noon, and employees were told to stay inside, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.
Moshe sat in the car smoking for hours before a robot broke a rear window of the car so officers could see inside, police Lt. Ruben de la Torre said.
Police also evacuated an apartment building across the street as a precaution.
Authorities said Moshe is wanted on two misdemeanors but did not provide details.
Copyright
2009, KTLA-TV, Los Angeles
Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:55 am
