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prisoner bio: p.o.w. matthew "rampage" lamont


MATTHEW LAMONT

On April 1, 2003, Matthew Lamont pled no contest to four felony charges relating to his arrest nearly one year ago. Lamont has been in police custody since April 20, 2002, when his car was stopped in Whittier CA., by Long Beach and La Habra police officers. The officers searched the car Lamont was riding in and allegedly found materials that could be used to make a destructive device.

Police claim that Lamont intended to use the alleged "destructive device" against a neo-nazis event which was scheduled to take place in La Habra, CA. The event, which had been canceled previous to Lamont's arrest, had been organized to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday. The event organizers of the Moose Lodge, where the show was to take place, were misinformed as to the reason for the show, as well as, who was putting on the event. Once informed, the lodge canceled the event.

The car Lamont was riding in, passed the planned location of the show before being pull over approximately 1.5 miles down the road from the location.

In the police reports, officers gave contradictory reasons for stopping Lamont and searching the vehicle. One reason given was that the car "smelled of gasoline." This reason does not explain why Long Beach police officers, approximately 20 miles from Long Beach would stop the vehicle in question; nor does it explain why the police officers followed Lamont and his previous codefendant from Long Beach to a benefit show in Anaheim, CA, then into Whittier before stopping the car. For those unaware of this area, the police travel more than 32 miles, crossing over the county line between Orange and Los Angeles County twice, before stopping a car that smelled of gasoline.

Officers claim that while visually inspecting the car, they noticed a bottle of alcohol on the base board of the passengers side. Since both Lamont and former codefendant are underage, this gave the police cause to search the car, which was how they discovered the alleged destructive device (a gallon jug filled with gasoline, candles, and sponges.)

Matthew Lamont was charged with four felony counts: possession of a destructive device, transporting a destructive device, intent/use of a destructive device and possessing materials which could be used to make a destructive device. Since the beginning, Lamont's case and the support for his case has been faced with many obstacles. The defense presented a motion to dismiss the illegally collected evidence, which was denied by the judge. Orange County deputies, Santa Ana PD and other agencies have deterred and prevented people from attending Lamont's "public" hearings. Additionally, deputies videotaped people coming to Lamont's hearings as they entered and left the building, court room, and during the proceedings. Deputies search and wave metal detector wands at people as they enter the courtroom, after having passed through the metal detector at the main entrance, an extra precaution put in place just for Lamont's case.

Lamont's attorney, aware they would not receive a fair trial at this level of the courts, made a motion to move Lamont's case to a higher court, which was denied. Lamont then plead "no contest" to the four felony counts against him. At this present time, his actual sentence is not known. The attorneys hope to now appeal the denied motion to a higher court, which requires the completion of the trial process. Lamont was just recently sent to Wasco state prison, where he will hopefully be more comfortable. Meanwhile, his defense is filing the appeal.

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(dokumentiert von abc berlin)

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