A Pennsylvania prison guard charged with murdering a man July 21 at a shooting range and then stealing his semi-automatic rifle told police he was stockpiling weapons as part of plan to overthrow the federal government.
Last week, police watched Raymond Peake III enter Midway Self Storage on Route 34 in South Middleton Township and deposit something in a unit. When they searched the unit, they found the victim’s AR-15, another semi-automatic rifle and a Remington 700 rifle that had been reported stolen earlier this year from the same shooting range.
Police also have surveillance video of Peake walking through a self-storage corridor while carrying Getgen’s rifle. Also inside the unit was a gun cabinet designed to hold 14 weapons. According to police reports, Peake rented the climate-controlled unit a week after Getgen was killed. He told the self-storage manager he was in the Marine Reserve and was being deployed to Iraq. The storage facility is located near military barracks.
Peake was charged Saturday in Cumberland County, Pa., with killing attorney Todd Getgen. Police allege Peake stole Getgen's AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, which included an attached custom silencer, and took it to the home of Thomas Tuso, also a corrections officer. Police seized four handguns, a box of bullets and pair of brass knuckles from Tuso’s home.
Peake said he didn’t kill Getgen, but stole the rifle after finding the lawyer lying dead at the rifle range, police said. He told investigators he was stealing weapons for an unnamed organization in an effort to overthrow the U.S. government and that he was willing to kill to defend his country, according to court documents.
Peake and Tuso have been suspended without pay from their jobs at the Camp Hill Correctional Facility. Peake, 64, is a retired, decorated Marine gunnery sergeant. He’s being held without bail in the county jail on charges that include homicide and robbery. Tuso, 34, is charged with theft and receiving stolen property. Tuso is free on $100,000 bail.
Source: Salon, Cops: Murder Suspect Wanted to Start a Coup
The Patriot News, Police Seize Handguns in Cumberland Slaying Probe
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