I called for help and now I'm facing prison time'

[Sonnabend]

http://www.democraticunderground.com...ss=389x3769442

First and foremost: this man is a veteran and he deserves every bit of help he can be given. PTSD is real and God knows what he went through..but that isn't what this thread is about.

Maybe I am wrong...if so please correct me

tannybogus Donating Member (405 posts) Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Sun Aug-10-08 08:42 AM
Original message
'I called for help and now I'm facing prison time' A former Marine and Iraq war veteran from Santa Rosa is facing a felony weapons charge stemming from a call for help he made while contemplating suicide.

Iraq war veteran Matthew Jensen served three tours of duty and suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. Jensen says he still suffers from PTSD, but is now taking medication and feels stable.Matthew Jensen, 24, said he was deeply depressed and suffering from post traumatic stress disorder from his multiple tours in Iraq when he called 911 on May 31.

Jensen, a 6-foot-2-inch former infantryman, surrendered to police unarmed and without incident and was placed on a psychiatric hold that night. Officers confiscated a 1940s-design assault rifle they found on the floor of Jensen's parents' home on Princeton Drive.

Three weeks later, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office issued a warrant for his arrest, charging Jensen with possession of an illegal assault rifle.

Police said the rifle, an SKS, had a "folding stock" and was found with a "high capacity magazine" -- two characteristics of an illegal weapon. A sniper scope and a bayonet were attached to the rifle.

Jensen, now a corporal in the California National Guard's Santa Rosa-based 579th Engineer Battalion, said he brought the rifle back from Iraq as a "war trophy" and gave it to his father.

Jensen said he took the rifle from a dead insurgent sniper, killed by Marines in his unit in 2004. Had he left the weapon in Iraq, Jensen believes it would have fallen back into the hands of enemy forces.

He said he removed the rifle's firing pin and firing mechanism and threw them away.

"You can't load it. You can't fire it," said Paul Carreras, Jensen's attorney.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080807/NEWS/8080...

Stop me if I am wrong....is it, or is it not, illegal and against a load of regs to bring back firearms from a war zone? I seem to recall a thread where troops were told "no you may not bring back weapons"

If he is to face the law, he should be sent to a psych facility and be treated, not be sent to prison..but by rights, am I wrong in assuming that he was not to have had the weapon in the first place?

"Had he left the weapon in Iraq, Jensen believes it would have fallen back into the hands of enemy forces." - Huh??? He could have handed it to a platoon officer to have it destroyed.

Am I missing something here? Did he break the law?

[x5060]

http://www.democraticunderground.com...ss=389x3769442

First and foremost: this man is a veteran and he deserves every bit of help he can be given. PTSD is real and God knows what he went through..but that isn't what this thread is about.

Maybe I am wrong...if so please correct me

Stop me if I am wrong....is it, or is it not, illegal and against a load of regs to bring back firearms from a war zone? I seem to recall a thread where troops were told "no you may not bring back weapons"

If he is to face the law, he should be sent to a psych facility and be treated, not be sent to prison..but by rights, am I wrong in assuming that he was not to have had the weapon in the first place?

"Had he left the weapon in Iraq, Jensen believes it would have fallen back into the hands of enemy forces." - Huh??? He could have handed it to a platoon officer to have it destroyed.

Am I missing something here? Did he break the law?

Yeah, thats a load of shit. You do NOT bring back weapons from a war zone, that is a big no no. 10$ says its actually a firearm purchased in the states but the paper wants to sow how bad the war is because all the troops are bringing weapons of mass destruction as "trophies"

They make a spectacle of blowing up HUGE piles of munitions and enemy weapons. It would have been just another gun in a pile of guns on top of 100 pounds of C4.

Police said the rifle, an SKS, had a "folding stock" and was found with a "high capacity magazine" -- two characteristics of an illegal weapon. A sniper scope and a bayonet were attached to the rifle.

This line pisses me off.

1. "folding stock" and "high capacity magazines" are not "characteristics of illegal weapons" in most states, only california, new york, and illinois treat them as illegal.

2. a "sniper scope"?

3. Whats wrong with a bayonet? Are you really that afraid of him stabbing you with his rifle?

4. also, an SKS is NOT a sniper weapon.

[LibraryLady]

Jensen, now a corporal in the California National Guard's Santa Rosa-based 579th Engineer Battalion, said he brought the rifle back from Iraq as a "war trophy" and gave it to his father.

Jensen said he took the rifle from a dead insurgent sniper, killed by Marines in his unit in 2004. Had he left the weapon in Iraq, Jensen believes it would have fallen back into the hands of enemy forces.

Lt. Col. Jon Siepmann of the California National Guard said he couldn't comment on Jen-sen's case specifically, but said that military personnel are generally not allowed to bring weapons home from a war theater.

Sounds like he did bring it back.

[Sonnabend]

Thanks. I knew I'd seen that somewhere.

Hope he gets ll the help he needs...he served with honour.

[biccat]

So this is a post on the DUmp about how asanine and absurd California's gun laws are, right?

[x5060]

So this is a post on the DUmp about how asanine and absurd California's gun laws are, right?

Thats how I looked at it!

[Theophilus]

He's toast regardless of the PTSD. PTSD doesn't cause you to violate the most well known of all standing general orders in theater.

"Had he left the weapon in Iraq, Jensen believes it would have fallen back into the hands of enemy forces." That response is about the worst possible. The fact is he has no excuse.

[AmPat]

He could have illegally brought the rifle back. Had he been caught, it would not have been pleasant for him or his unit.

We had some morons try to bring lesser items back, (forgottoen small arms ammo) and all of us had to do a 100% layout. Believe me, after the time spent packing and looking forward to getting out of there, the offenders were not popular.

I'm very suspicious of the PTSD malady. I don't doubt it exists but I believe it is easy for malcontents and misfits to blame their inadequacies on it.

[GenYConservative]

The Iraqi's use SKS's?

[asdf2231]

You may legally bring back a semi automatic or a demilled full automatic rifle and any type of pistol provided that it is registered as a "War Trophy".

The military has mechinisms in place to allow this.

It probably belonged to the snipers spotter.