Rick H.
Member
The OP has been given good advice and I will agree with what has been posted by the LEO's here. The terms "hitman's tools" can most definitely apply if you are stopped by law enforcement. Most people don't travel out-of-state with a suppressor in their vehicle. Case in point many years ago I stopped a guy driving a rental car and he didn't look like a bad egg, save for the fact he had a pistol next to his leg that I caught sight of. At that time it was illegal to carry a firearm outside of a locked box or zippered case in a motor vehicle and the firearm could not be loaded. His was loaded.
Long story short after my backup arrived the driver was removed from the vehicle and taken into custody. A search incident to arrest was done on the vehicle and a suppressor for the handgun was found in the trunk along with an AK with a lot of ammunition for both. A leather vest was also in the trunk which showed the driver belonged to a 1% motorcycle club out of California. As best as we could figure, although it was never proven, the driver was here to do injury to an opposing outlaw motorcycle club member. The driver was incarcerated for several days while we tried to figure out what he was really up to and mysteriously he received assistance from a very well know criminal defense lawyer. A deal was finally struck with the local DA's office and the driver was fined for the having the loaded pistol in his car along with the suppressor which he had no documentation for. Both items were seized and destroyed. Neither item were reported stolen and neither was the AK he had which was returned to him. The short time he spent in jail was his time served.
So in this case we believed he really had the tools for doing harm to someone and fully intended to do so. The only thing he really cared about getting back were his "colors". Fast forward to today. There are so many varying laws, rules and regulations on the books that it is quite difficult for any police officer to be "up" on everything. Some things seem to change almost weekly dealing with firearms and such, so when someone claims cops are uneducated I take exception to that. I am sure I could make that person look uneducated quite easily if I hammered him or her with some questions on firearm laws or regulations. I own two suppressors and I would never travel with them out of state and I am a retired LEO. It's tough enough to stay current on laws and regulations in my own state let alone others, especially a state like Illinois which is just south of ours. Even though I am a retired LEO of over 30 years I purposely avoid going through a state like Illinois to eliminate any problems and I started my civilian law enforcement career in Illinois. So take all this for what it is worth.
Rick H.
Long story short after my backup arrived the driver was removed from the vehicle and taken into custody. A search incident to arrest was done on the vehicle and a suppressor for the handgun was found in the trunk along with an AK with a lot of ammunition for both. A leather vest was also in the trunk which showed the driver belonged to a 1% motorcycle club out of California. As best as we could figure, although it was never proven, the driver was here to do injury to an opposing outlaw motorcycle club member. The driver was incarcerated for several days while we tried to figure out what he was really up to and mysteriously he received assistance from a very well know criminal defense lawyer. A deal was finally struck with the local DA's office and the driver was fined for the having the loaded pistol in his car along with the suppressor which he had no documentation for. Both items were seized and destroyed. Neither item were reported stolen and neither was the AK he had which was returned to him. The short time he spent in jail was his time served.
So in this case we believed he really had the tools for doing harm to someone and fully intended to do so. The only thing he really cared about getting back were his "colors". Fast forward to today. There are so many varying laws, rules and regulations on the books that it is quite difficult for any police officer to be "up" on everything. Some things seem to change almost weekly dealing with firearms and such, so when someone claims cops are uneducated I take exception to that. I am sure I could make that person look uneducated quite easily if I hammered him or her with some questions on firearm laws or regulations. I own two suppressors and I would never travel with them out of state and I am a retired LEO. It's tough enough to stay current on laws and regulations in my own state let alone others, especially a state like Illinois which is just south of ours. Even though I am a retired LEO of over 30 years I purposely avoid going through a state like Illinois to eliminate any problems and I started my civilian law enforcement career in Illinois. So take all this for what it is worth.
Rick H.