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Handgun silencer. | Photo courtesy of Kintetsubuffalo, Mono/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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A veteran Los Angeles police detective was facing a felony charge for trying to purchase a silencer from China, authorities said Thursday.
Investigators began looking at 48-year-old Luke Walden, a detective with the Gangs and Narcotics Division, and 24-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department after U.S. Customs intercepted the silencer in April 2021.
LA District Attorney George Gascón issued a press release saying that any device intended to silence or muffle a firearm is illegal, and that anyone attempting to circumvent the law by purchasing such an item overseas would be held accountable.
LAPD police Chief Michel Moore told KTLA5 that the circumstances of this investigation trouble him given the responsibilities of the involved detective.
The DA’s office said Walden was charged with one felony count of attempted possession of a silencer.