Indiana native James Wesley Howell pleaded not guilty to charges of felony weapons violations after California authorities found him with three assault rifles and explosive chemicals in his car ahead of a major gay pride parade.
Howell was charged Tuesday in Los Angeles County with possessing an assault weapon, a high-capacity magazine and explosives on a public highway.
He also was charged with a misdemeanor count of possessing a loaded weapon in a vehicle. An attorney representing Howell entered not guilty pleas on his behalf.
Police say Howell was found with a high-capacity assault rifle, two other loaded rifles, 15 pounds of commercially sold explosive, a stun gun and buck knife.
Santa Monica police Detective Derek Leone said Tuesday the two ingredients of the explosive had been mixed and that if detonated by a rifle, "would have posed a grave danger."
Leone described the items in court records as part of his request that a judge increase bail for 20-year-old James Wesley Howell. Leone says Howell also had a security badge.
Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz says all the items found in Howell's car don't "pass the common sense test." He set bail at $2 million.
Howell's defense attorney, Pamela Jones, says there's no evidence Howell intended to detonate the explosive commonly used by gun enthusiasts.
One of Howell's former neighbors in Jeffersonville says he isn't surprised to see the man in trouble. Daniel Rumbley says Howell caused problems in the neighborhood and often acted rebellious.
"I fully expected the kid to probably spend some time in jail, but locally," Rumbley says. "I figured he would get in trouble here just because he doesn't have any respect for authority at all."
Court records show Howell was twice accused of threatening people with a gun last year.
Police in Charlestown, Ind. say the first incident involved James Wesley Howell's boyfriend last October and the second involved a neighbor four days later.
Howell was charged with intimidation in the second case and reached a plea deal that placed him on probation and prohibited him from having weapons.
Police in Clark County, Ind. confirm that Howell is also the subject of a sexual assault investigation. Clark County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that Howell is a suspect in an alleged May 31 assault. A department spokesman declined to release further details.
The incident occurred less than two weeks before Howell was arrested Sunday.
The FBI searched Howell's Jeffersonville home Monday night, the FBI Indianapolis Division confirms.
Special Agent Wendy Osborne says special agents from the Indianapolis office carried out a California-issued search warrant on Howell's home.
Police say 20-year-old Howell was arrested with three assault rifles and chemicals for making explosives in Santa Monica, California, early Sunday.
Howell told police he was headed to a gay pride event in West Hollywood that attracts hundreds of thousands of people.
Rumbley says, regardless of Howell's intentions, he'll have to face the consequences.
"Nobody forced him to put guns in that car, nobody forced him to put Tannerite and gasoline in that car to be able to make explosives or any sort of improvised device," he says. "Nobody forced him to do that. That's a conscious decision that he made on his own."
Becca Costello and Barbara Brosher contributed to this story.
