Thread: 5 charged with weapons cache to remain jailed until trial

5 charged with weapons cache to remain jailed until trial
Posted by News staff May 01, 2007 3:14 PM
Five men arrested on conspiracy charges after authorities found enough ammunition to outfit a small army will remain in jail until their trial, a judge decided this afternoon.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Armstrong Jr. denied bond for Raymond Dillard, 46, Adam Lynn Cunningham, 41, of Collinsville; Bonnell Hughes, 57, of Crossville; Randall Garrett Cole, 22, of Gadsden; and James Ray McElroy, 20, of Collinsville. This came after a detention hearing before the judge in which prosecutors argued they were a danger to society and a flight risk.

All five men are charged with conspiracy to make a firearm following raids last Thursday in DeKalb, Marshall, Etowah and Jefferson counties. Authorities found a cache of weapons, including 130 grenades, an improvised rocket launcher with live rounds, a machine gun and 2,500 rounds of ammunition.

In testimony today a federal agent said that the men had a plan to attack "a group of Mexicans" in the Remlap area and that at least two of the men charged recently went on a trip to Remlap.

Dillard's attorney did not oppose the government's motion because he has an outstanding warrant from a federal court in Mobile.

A separate hearing was scheduled later today for Michael Bobo, 30, of Trussville who was arrested on a charge of being a drug user in possession of a firearm.
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Agent says militia targeted Hispanics
Posted by Birmingham News staff May 02, 2007 4:15 AM
The heavily armed Alabama Free Militia planned to attack a group of Hispanics in Blount County and had orders to open fire immediately if they saw the feds coming, an ATF agent said Tuesday.

Adam Nesmith of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives testified during a federal court hearing that the men had a plan to attack a group of Mexicans in the Remlap area with machine guns.

Nesmith said two of the men and a confidential informant went on a reconnaissance mission to Remlap on April 20, six days before federal, state and local law enforcement officers carried out last Thursday's raids in four Alabama counties, confiscating truckloads of explosives, 130 grenades and 2,500 rounds of ammunition.


Nesmith said Raymond Dillard, described as the militia major, and James Ray McElroy, a private, were the two who traveled to Remlap.

Nesmith said Dillard, who had the highest rank, told the informant there were standing orders that if the militia saw the feds coming they were to open fire immediately because "they are the enemy."

As the surprise raids were carried out, agents found massive amounts of weapons, trip wires and two hand grenades rigged as booby traps at the Collinsville camper home of 46-year-old Dillard, also known as Jeff Osborne.

Arrested following the raids were Dillard; McElroy, 20, of Collinsville; Bonnell Hughes, 57, of Crossville; Randall Garrett Cole, 22, of Gadsden; and Adam Lynn Cunningham, 41, of Collinsville. They are charged with conspiracy to make a firearm.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Armstrong Jr. denied bond for the five men following Nesmith's testimony in a Birmingham detention hearing.

Prosecutor Michael Whisonant had asked that the men be detained, saying they were flight risks and a danger to society.

Armstrong said the men were not candidates for release, despite defense attorneys' effort to distance their clients from the whole cache of weapons and to have relatives post property bonds.

"I would be worried to let them go at this time," Armstrong said.

The men, clean shaven, appeared in court wearing leg irons and orange jail jumpsuits.

Armstrong did approve a $10,000 property bond with stringent conditions for Michael Wayne Bobo, a sixth defendant.

Bobo, 30, was arrested at his Trussville home following Thursday's raid. He is charged with being a drug user in possession of a firearm.

ATF agent Larry Alt testified that Bobo had as much as 2,500 rounds of ammunition, guns and a room that was sort of a "chemistry set."

"It had all the components for someone wanting to create an explosive device," Alt said.

Bobo had met with Dillard and McElroy in April and discussed illegal immigrants, the government and grenades, Alt said.

Bobby Bobo, Michael Bobo's father, testified Tuesday that he knew about "some of the things" and knew his son had a gun collection. But he said a relative who is an Army officer assured him nothing was illegal.

The elder Bobo said he was unaware that his son was associating with militia members.

The ATF and the Alabama State Fire Marshal's Office initiated an investigation into the group about seven weeks ago. They used the confidential informant to infiltrate the militia and document grenade-making with video and audio recordings. The informant had met Dillard at a DeKalb County flea market in the fall.

The investigation prompted raids in DeKalb, Marshall, Etowah and Jefferson counties. Federal, state and local law enforcement authorities returned to DeKalb County Tuesday to search a cave along a mountainous ridge behind Cunningham's home in Collinsville after getting tips that more explosives and weapons may be hidden there. But the eight-hour search ended without turning up any more weapons, said DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris.

VAL WALTON
vwalton@bhamnews.com

News staff writer Kent Faulk contributed to
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