Man going to gay pride event had rigged magazines - police

Police found a loaded assault rifle with magazines rigged to allow 60 shots to be fired in quick succession, along with 15 pounds of chemicals mixed and ready to explode in the car of an Indiana man who said he was headed to a gay pride event, authorities revealed on Tuesday.

James Wesley Howell, 20, of Charlestown, also had two other loaded rifles, ammunition, a stun gun, a buck knife and a security badge when he was arrested early on Sunday in Santa Monica, they said.

Howell made his initial court appearance on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to three felony weapons and ammunition charges. The judge set bail at $2m.

Alone, each item found in Howell's car might not indicate anything sinister, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz said. But together, they "just don't pass the common sense test."