Teh One Who Knocks
07-31-2015, 11:45 AM
By Peter Hermann - The Washington Post
A man from the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee was arrested this week after police said he drove into the District with a pickup full of weapons and a propane tank, then asked an officer for directions to the White House.
The 59-year-old man, identified as Steve Randall Oney of Sevierville, Tenn., told police he was moving and had stopped in the District for an overnight visit. Police said he pulled his truck over on Independence Avenue, got out and asked an officer, “Where’s the White House?”
Authorities did not say whether they think there was an ulterior motive. Oney was charged with carrying a gun without a license and released from custody on Wednesday with orders from a judge to stay away from all congressional buildings.
Oney could not be reached for comment. His lawyer, Joel R. Davidson, said there is no indication his client was planning an attack. “He asked to see where the various sights were,” Davidson said, adding that in addition to the White House, Oney wanted to see the Washington Monument. “He has talked to me,” Davidson said. “There is nothing that he has said that I find alarming.”
Authorities said in an arrest affidavit that Oney stopped his Ford pickup truck about 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday and approached a U.S. Capitol Police officer. “The defendant stated he was visiting the area for the night and wanted to see the White House,” the affidavit says. Oney told police “he was moving and had everything he owned in the truck.”
According to the court document, the officer saw a propane tank in back of the truck and what appeared to be an ammunition box. Police searched the vehicle and reported finding a .44-caliber revolver, unloaded and in a holster, a .22-caliber rifle with a scope, a 7mm rifle, a knife with a 12-inch blade, ammunition boxes filled with hundreds of rounds and three percussion caps.
A man from the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee was arrested this week after police said he drove into the District with a pickup full of weapons and a propane tank, then asked an officer for directions to the White House.
The 59-year-old man, identified as Steve Randall Oney of Sevierville, Tenn., told police he was moving and had stopped in the District for an overnight visit. Police said he pulled his truck over on Independence Avenue, got out and asked an officer, “Where’s the White House?”
Authorities did not say whether they think there was an ulterior motive. Oney was charged with carrying a gun without a license and released from custody on Wednesday with orders from a judge to stay away from all congressional buildings.
Oney could not be reached for comment. His lawyer, Joel R. Davidson, said there is no indication his client was planning an attack. “He asked to see where the various sights were,” Davidson said, adding that in addition to the White House, Oney wanted to see the Washington Monument. “He has talked to me,” Davidson said. “There is nothing that he has said that I find alarming.”
Authorities said in an arrest affidavit that Oney stopped his Ford pickup truck about 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday and approached a U.S. Capitol Police officer. “The defendant stated he was visiting the area for the night and wanted to see the White House,” the affidavit says. Oney told police “he was moving and had everything he owned in the truck.”
According to the court document, the officer saw a propane tank in back of the truck and what appeared to be an ammunition box. Police searched the vehicle and reported finding a .44-caliber revolver, unloaded and in a holster, a .22-caliber rifle with a scope, a 7mm rifle, a knife with a 12-inch blade, ammunition boxes filled with hundreds of rounds and three percussion caps.