19 Silencers Recovered at Van Nuys Home

Because of a tip from the narcotics unit of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, agents from the federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms bureau Monday nabbed a suspected silencer salesman and recovered 19 illegal firearm silencers.

Armed with a federal search warrant, six officers from the sheriff’s narcotics unit, along with ATF agents, entered the home of suspect Anthony Berry, 52, at 14710 Blythe Street in Van Nuys.

There they recovered the silencers. Berry was already in custody on unrelated charges, officials said.

The case began two months ago when local narcotics officers told the ATF that Berry might be dealing in illegal silencers, according to ATF Assistant Special Agent John A. Torres.

Using that information, undercover ATF agents were able to buy silencers from Berry on three occasions. He sold them for $325 each.

A total of 24 silencers were either purchased from Berry or recovered from him during the course of the investigation.

“This was a significant case for the ATF in that we were able to work closely with the Ventura County sheriff’s office and the LAPD in apprehending an illegal silencer trafficker,” said Dick Curd, special agent in charge of the Los Angeles field office, in a written statement.

“We don’t come across silencers too often,” Torres said. “But with their ability to reduce volume, you can imagine what they are used for. So when we got this information, we pursued it vigorously.”

Silencers were banned under federal law in 1934 under the National Firearms Act. That law attempted to control “gangster-type” weaponry such as machine guns, sawed-off shotguns and silencers.

The punishment for illegally possessing a silencer is a 10-year prison term, a $10,000 fine or both.

Berry is scheduled to appear in federal court today.