Bob Smith: The strange case of the CIA agent that never was – and his hoard of 1,200 firearms

[Geee]

UK Independent:

Was Bob Smith a super-spy or a super-fantasist? That was the question many in Los Angeles are trying to answer after the puzzling death of man who kept a hoard of more than 1,200 firearms and two tons of ammunition at home.

 

The man, who is yet to be formally identified, was found dead in his sports utility vehicle not far from the house in LA’s affluent Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, where his body was believed to have been for two weeks in warm weather before police were alerted.

 

The man’s real identity remains unconfirmed. Reportedly known to his neighbours as “Bob Smith”, he supposedly convinced his fiancée that he worked as an undercover agent for a shadowy government organisation such as the CIA. The precise cause of death has not been officially determined, but the authorities said there were no obvious signs of foul play and it was not being treated as a homicide.

 

To police, the most surprising element of the case was the sheer number of handguns, rifles and shotguns stashed in the man’s house and garage, Los Angeles Police Department Commander Andrew Smith told The Los Angeles Times. “Our truck couldn’t carry it all. We had to go back and make another trip.” Many of the weapons were never fired, and some were still in their packaging with the price tags attached.