Richmond man pleads not guilty to multiple felony weapons charges
A Richmond man has pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges related to the discovery of a stockpile of military grade weapons found by authorities during a January search of his home, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
Lawrence Robert Hansen, 68, pleaded not guilty on Monday to 21 felony counts in connection with illegal weapon possession, according to the district attorney’s office. He is being held at the Martinez Detention Facility without bail.
During a raid on Hansen’s home on Jan. 31, agents with the California Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms seized 11 military-style machine guns, 133 handguns, 37 rifles, 60 assault rifles, seven shotguns, 20 silencers, four flare guns, 3,000 large capacity magazines and approximately 1 million rounds of miscellaneous ammunition and dozens of rifle receivers and pistol frames, according to the state attorney general’s office. Although the office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Hansen’s arrest last month, the district attorney’s office said Richmond police arrested him Sunday on an outstanding warrant. The DA’s office said Tuesday that Hansen also possessed several grenades and homemade explosives.
The January search of his home followed several incidents in which Hansen made gun-related threats against medical staff at a Walnut Creek clinic where he sought treatment between 2022 and 2023, the DA’s office said. He was also legally barred from owning guns, the DA’s office said. During an incident in September, a loaded gun was confiscated from Hansen during a medical exam at a Walnut Creek hospital, according to the DA’s office.
A preliminary hearing in Hansen’s case is scheduled for March 27.