Update: Boy arrested with rocket launcher released

[Abin Sur]

A few days ago there was a thread about a 15 year old boy who'd been arrested after a traffic stop when the police noticed an empty AT-4 rocket launcher tube in his car. Mind you, this is perfectly legal...it's nothing but an empty fiberglass tube! Well, the authorities finally seem to have figured this out.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18918402

NOVATO, Calif.—A 15-year-old Novato boy arrested with a military rocket launcher in his vehicle has been released from custody after authorities determined the launcher was spent and posed no danger.

Marin County prosecutors said on Friday the launcher was not capable of being fired. They are now pursuing a charge of driving without a license against the teen.

Novato police say the boy was driving an SUV with the rocket launcher in the back when he was pulled over by an officer on Tuesday for a traffic violation. Military investigators have concluded the launcher was fired by the boy's brother, who was apparently in the military.

Ed Buice, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Criminal Investigative Service, tells the Marin Independent Journal (http://bit.ly/pfM4TZ) the brother then kept the canister as a souvenir. Buice said no laws were broken.

[Posteritatis]

1. Glad to see someone figured that out at least

Though I still sort of predict a dozen snarky responses here going on the assumption that the thing was in fact still live, or some other similarly panicky sort of thing.

[Abin Sur]

2. How's this for a panicky reaction?

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_18913961

Police shut down the street and advised the library and several offices to close while a bomb squad investigated with a remote control robot.

All this for an empty tube, which anybody with the slightest knowledge of military hardware could have told them was utterly harmless.

[Posteritatis]

3. That is indeed a wonderfully panicky reaction. (nt)

[dems_rightnow]

4. I'm OK with a little bit of panicky reaction...

.... when the police stop a guy with a rocket launcher. I'm OK with a whole lot of concern.

[Posteritatis]

5. Except it's no more a rocket launcher than an empty bullet case is a loaded gun. (nt)

[Ter]

6. Has a rocket launcher ever been used in this country by a civilian?

I'm more scared of the guy with the AK-47 in his back seat.

[TheWraith]

7. You can buy and own a rocket launcher, and fire it.

The catch is that you're probably going to pay something like $10,000 a shot for firing it since the ammunition is rare.

[Abin Sur]

10. $1480.64 a shot

As per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT4

Mind you, the army is probably getting a bulk discount...

[TheWraith]

12. Yeah, it's going to be vastly more expensive for a civilian.

Most of the cost isn't even in the rocket itself, it's in the rarity of the rockets. It costs maybe $500 to manufacture an M16 rifle, but they cost around $15,000 on the civilian market, mostly because they're rare.

[Abin Sur]

13. If it weren't for the '86 ban on (new) machine guns for civilians

We'd be able to purchase a full auto M16 for what it should cost, around $1,200 or so.

[Ter]

15. I'll take that as a no

:)

[hfojvt]

8. I guess Bruce finally got caught

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7vCww3j2-w

[Ezlivin]

9. They can take my rocket launcher when they can pry it from

the back seat of the SUV I'm driving.

Next time he should focus on completing that 1:1 scale model of the Saturn V rocket.

[Abin Sur]

11. A Saturn V is too big...just build an Atlas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Astronaut_Farmer

I did have trouble getting past the plot of one man successfully building an Atlas rocket and launching himself into orbit. I don't care how much spare time he has...

[HopeHoops]

14. I never know what's in the van - num chucks, knives, scai, swords, staves...

My wife's a 3rd degree black belt and all three of my daughters are 2nd degree black belts. We've ALWAYS got weapons in the car.