Hunt for 'Jason Bourne' who kept arms cache in penthouse overlooking U.S. federal bank

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Daily Mail

Hunt for 'Jason Bourne' who kept arms cache in penthouse overlooking U.S. federal bank
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:29 AM on 2nd May 2010


Police are hunting a man who fled his high-rise Los Angeles penthouse 'Jason Bourne style' leaving weapons, counterfeiting equipment and passports in multiple names.

Brian Alexik slipped out of the window and climbed down the fire escape after refusing to let in officers.
A neighbour had knocked on the door after smelling suspicious fumes but Alexik refused to open up, even when firefighters and then police arrived.

Officers broke down the door just as the 33-year-old fled shouldering several duffel bags.
'He escaped like Jason Bourne,' said Deputy Chief Mike Downing of the LAPD Counter-terrorism Bureau, referring to the character played by Matt Damon in the hit film franchise based on the espionage thrillers by Robert Ludlum.

Police searched the apartment after Alexik vanished 11 days ago, uncovering a cache of weapons including an AK-47 assault rifle.

Read more: http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1270282/Hunt-Jason-Bourne-kept-arms-cache-penthouse-overlooking-U-S-federal-bank.html

[The Magistrate]

1. Interesting, Ma'am

Wonder what the local papers made of it when it happened.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Here's something from the LA Times: A room with a view to one big mystery

A room with a view to one big mystery
Why did a counterfeiter’s setup face L.A.’s Federal Reserve office?
April 29, 2010|By Andrew Blankstein and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times

It started 11 days ago when a resident at an upscale downtown L.A. high-rise tower smelled fumes coming from a neighboring apartment.

Firefighters knocked on the neighbor's door but he refused to let them in. They called police, who broke down the door of the penthouse just as the man inside was escaping through a back window and down a fire escape carrying duffel bags.

He escaped like Jason Bourne," said LAPD Deputy Chief Mike Downing of the Counter-Terrorism Bureau, referring to the movie spy character.

What they found next began a weeklong mystery.

The apartment contained sophisticated counterfeiting equipment as well as a cache of weapons including an AK-47. They also found stacks of counterfeit $100 bills totaling $15,000 and a camera tripod.

But detectives' interest was really heightened when they looked outside the window and saw that the penthouse balcony had a spot-on view of the U.S. Federal Reserve building on Grand Avenue.

Detectives now are searching for the suspect, who leased the $3,400-a-month penthouse, paying one year in advance using stacks of cash.

More:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/29/local/la-me-0430-federal-reserve-20100430-12

Can't understand why it wasn't national or international news until now. It's the absolute first I've seen of this.

[flamingdem]

4. This sounds like a Jason Bourne knockoff, so far so good if he has not been

caught.. or what does that say about the LAPD?

[Judi Lynn]

6. Oh, they are tough on gangs, they say. Not so much on sociopaths in penthouses. n/t

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

11. $40K in cash(lease) didn't raise any eybrows?

If I move $50 between checking and savings they're all over me!

[Judi Lynn]

3. More on Brian Alexik: What Happened in Unit 701?

What Happened in Unit 701?

Police Searching for Man Who Assembled Weapons, Made Counterfeit Money in South Park Loft
by Ryan Vaillancourt
Published: Friday, April 30, 2010 4:32 PM PDT

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - When a resident of the Reserve Lofts smelled gasoline emanating from unit 701 in the early evening of April 19, the Fire Department got a nervous call. The concerned resident couldn’t have known that the act would be the first domino to tumble, ultimately setting off an ongoing manhunt for a figure police warn should be considered armed and dangerous.

When fire and police officials arrived at unit 701 shortly after 6 p.m., the man inside, 33-year-old Brian Alexik, refused to open the door. After unlocking the door with a key, the door remained blocked by a homemade contraption that functioned as a second lock. By the time police broke down the door with a battering ram, Alexik had fled his unit, apparently escaping via a fire escape.

The source of the fumes was immediately apparent: Alexik, who police say sometimes went by the name Ken Shurin and is of Russian descent, had been using a gasoline-powered electric generator. But the generator was perhaps the least surprising thing authorities found.

Also in the apartment was approximately $15,000 in counterfeit money and the equipment used to make it. Police officials said the fake bills were of “high quality.” Additionally, there was an AK-47, a sawed-off shotgun and other evidence that suggests Alexik was manufacturing weapon parts. He also had an array of fake identification documents.

More:
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/articles/2010/05/01/news/doc4bdb628fbe994305974657.txt

[flamingdem]

5. Oh Russian descent, that's a different movie

There's another movie going on in Times Square!

[Judi Lynn]

7. The "Democrat" Party contracted him to draw Teabagger attention away from the birth certificate. n/t

[aquart]

8. Not even a glimmer of funny.

[flamingdem]

10. It's an action movie, not a comedy! nt

[The Magistrate]

9. Curiouser And Curiouser, Ma'am

It would make an excellent heist movie....