1 year ago
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Looking for an update on Benjamin Stevens
As you may recall, back in 2008 an Illinois Lake Forest man by the name of Benjamin Stevens had his house raided, and over 85 collector firearms confiscated by the Illinois Thugs in Blue for the terrible crime of simply having them without an Illinois FOID card. He had a .50 car mountable Machine Gun, and they (ATF was involved) apparently wanted it. The bad thing is: I can't find the outcome of the story, I assume he's still fighting the legal case, in Lake County it is not unlikely for the legal battle to go on 6+ years. I am looking to see if anyone has an update on the story.
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Update by Benjamin Stevens
ReplyDeleteI grew up on a ranch in az. and learned how to shoot and hunt at the age of 6. My dad(long deceased) taught me to respect and handle firearms at an early age. I never had one accident with a firearm or misused one in anyway; as I was taught guns must treated with the utmost respect with no second chances given.
Okay, fast forward,I graduated with a B.A. in education and then a masters in business M.B.A. Before opening a brokerage firm in Chicago in 1991 I was an analyst for Ford Motor Company.
Over the years times were good and my family enjoyed privileges I could never have imagined. I worked 14 hr. days , 6 days a week for over a decade. I had a 50% partner and I figure together (counting our employees) we probably paid the federal government over 15 million dollars in taxes in our 17 years in business. I was proud of this country and supported law enforcement and government.
Then one sunny spring day in may 2008 my wife is pulled over and told a lot of lies about her license and identity etc. Both our dogs had cancer and she was taking them to the vet. She called me I was at home at the time and wanted me to go to the Bannockburn police dept. to tell the two agents who she was. Later they told us they were just going to use flashbangs and drag us out of our home, but they thought they would be "KIND".
I was immediately taken into custody and spent the next 36 hrs. in jail. The press was at the bond hearing and the judge was grandstanding so he set my bond at $700,000. My god I've seen hard core murderer's and criminals with bails of far less. Fortunately , my wife and father inlaw were able to get the funds together and I was out.
Thus began a three 1/2 yr. ordeal of my legal battle and probation. During this time I lost my firm, my home went into foreclosure, all our funds were used to fight legally and live on without any other income. I succumbed to pneumonia and suffered a heart attack and spent 12 days in I.C.U. with death very close at hand. The stress of the monthly bullsh-- court dates and the pain of watching my family slowly falling apart took it's toll on me and I was very angry and disgusted at our justice system. I did not have a valid foid because the guns were going to be moved to Arizona in the next few months and I thought my wife's card was still valid. But, there was a lot going on at the time she was busy helping my son get into school and helping my daughter graduate and as I mentioned the 2 beloved animals were sick with cancer.
The ATF waited just until her card expired and then pounced on us. I hadn't even used the weapons. They were a collection I had always wanted to display when I moved to Az and built a home.
Well, that dream is gone as well as my whole life's work.
I now live with my 88 year old mother in Arizona and my wife is holding on by a thread trying to unload our home in this great real estate market.
I have nothing left and it is difficult to find work. I finished a one year probation that initially was going to be two, but the small town Probation Officer knew the whole thing was political crap and he strongly urged the asst. Lake Forest D.A. to drop the probation after a year. I was going to be charged with a felony, instead after successfully completing their probation I have a misdemeanor that states "improper use of a fire arm". Nice HuH. Me improperly using a firearm, I don't know how that will play out but it's better than a felony.
All this destruction for not having a card that 38 states don't even require. Some people probably think I'm a fool for letting it expire, but if I had known the consequences believe me it would never have expired.
There is much more to this story but, I don't even know who I am sending this email to so if you want to know more email me. Tell me who you are and what your organization is about.
Hi Benjamin! Firstly, thank you for your update, I was afraid you were rotting in a jail somewhere since there was no media followup on your story. Your situation is much like the situation my girlfriend and I had, which triggered this site which is dedicated to the abuses of power and constitutional infringements of those sworn to uphold the constitution. My ultimate goal here is to wait until the SAF litigation goes far enough to have the Illinois Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon charge deemed unconstitutional then attempt to organize everyone unjustly taken by this law and help them seek restitution for the wrongs committed against them. Please email me at savaship@gmail.com as google will not allow me access to your email address. thank you!
DeleteThe above story sounds very familiar. Ben, you can respond via my e-mail mjangioletti@yahoo.com
ReplyDelete