.U.S. soldier charged with smuggling weapons from Afghanistan
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - David Kellerman, an army special forces soldier, treated Camp Phoenix in Afghanistan like it a personal weapons warehouse, according to a federal indictment. He smuggled and stockpiled at least one machine gun, a disassembled grenade launcher, explosives and grenades and thousands of rounds of varying types of ammunition.
None of it makes sense to his father.
Lawrence Kellerman, of Lake Worth, Fla., can't figure out what went wrong enough to put his son, a U.S. Army Reservist and air marshal, in federal custody on multiple firearms and explosives charges. Maybe it was a head wound he sustained in Afghanistan, he wondered. Maybe his son was overzealous in bringing back war trophies, something he himself did after the Korean War.
David Kellerman, 44, awaits extradition in North Carolina on charges of violating seven federal laws governing weapons and explosives. Authorities said they found caches of weapons and explosives in his houseboat in Fort Lauderdale and storage units in Deerfield Beach, Fla., and Dania Beach, Fla.
His father said David excelled in his duties, and it doesn't gibe with what authorities now accuse him of doing.
"He was a hero over there; he did 19 months of combat," said Lawrence Kellerman, from his home. "I don't know what happened to him."
Kellerman's mother declined to comment on her son's situation because relatives were still trying to gather information.
Lawrence Kellerman said he thinks a head wound sustained last year in an attack in Afghanistan could have affected his son's judgment.
"I wondered why he volunteered this second time," he said. "He told me he had `unfinished business' back there."
The smuggling operation, according to federal authorities, was methodical. David Kellerman was stationed 20th Special Force Group in Afghanistan, once in charge of weapon systems at Camp Spann and later mail runs and equipment drop-offs at Camp Phoenix, according to the federal indictment. During his first tour from 2003 to 2004 and his second earlier this year, he disassembled weapons and explosives, hid them in innocuous items like DVD players, fold-out cots, and MRE bags and shipped them back to the U.S., the indictment says.
Federal authorities suspected him of misusing operation funds and searched his baggage on Aug. 24 as he was returning to the United States, according to the indictment, and authorities found 32 pounds of plastic explosives, grenades and guns.
David Kellerman grew up in a military family familiar with guns. His father, a U.S. Marine veteran, brought back a few weapons from the Korean War.
"There's a lot of veterans that brought a lot of stuff back from wars," Lawrence Kellerman said. "I brought back some stuff, but the 8th Army let me take it back."
His son joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 1980, Lawrence Kellerman said, and was immediately accepted into the Special Forces. Throughout the `80s, he started several businesses, including a salvage business and a private security and training business.
But he also got into trouble. Court records show he was sentenced to probation on charges of dealing in stolen property in Broward in 1983 and carrying a concealed weapon in 1990.
David Kellerman later joined the U.S. Air Marshals. His dates of employment were unclear from documents, and federal officials were not available for comment Saturday.
Lawrence Kellerman hopes to speak to his son this week when he is transferred to Fort Lauderdale. He said he knows his son wasn't planning anything nefarious, but the charges are unsettling.
"I can't understand that, the explosives. I don't like that," he said. "I got a lot of warriors in my family and I'm proud of them. But what I read here doesn't make me feel too good."
KRT
None of it makes sense to his father.
Lawrence Kellerman, of Lake Worth, Fla., can't figure out what went wrong enough to put his son, a U.S. Army Reservist and air marshal, in federal custody on multiple firearms and explosives charges. Maybe it was a head wound he sustained in Afghanistan, he wondered. Maybe his son was overzealous in bringing back war trophies, something he himself did after the Korean War.
David Kellerman, 44, awaits extradition in North Carolina on charges of violating seven federal laws governing weapons and explosives. Authorities said they found caches of weapons and explosives in his houseboat in Fort Lauderdale and storage units in Deerfield Beach, Fla., and Dania Beach, Fla.
His father said David excelled in his duties, and it doesn't gibe with what authorities now accuse him of doing.
"He was a hero over there; he did 19 months of combat," said Lawrence Kellerman, from his home. "I don't know what happened to him."
Kellerman's mother declined to comment on her son's situation because relatives were still trying to gather information.
Lawrence Kellerman said he thinks a head wound sustained last year in an attack in Afghanistan could have affected his son's judgment.
"I wondered why he volunteered this second time," he said. "He told me he had `unfinished business' back there."
The smuggling operation, according to federal authorities, was methodical. David Kellerman was stationed 20th Special Force Group in Afghanistan, once in charge of weapon systems at Camp Spann and later mail runs and equipment drop-offs at Camp Phoenix, according to the federal indictment. During his first tour from 2003 to 2004 and his second earlier this year, he disassembled weapons and explosives, hid them in innocuous items like DVD players, fold-out cots, and MRE bags and shipped them back to the U.S., the indictment says.
Federal authorities suspected him of misusing operation funds and searched his baggage on Aug. 24 as he was returning to the United States, according to the indictment, and authorities found 32 pounds of plastic explosives, grenades and guns.
David Kellerman grew up in a military family familiar with guns. His father, a U.S. Marine veteran, brought back a few weapons from the Korean War.
"There's a lot of veterans that brought a lot of stuff back from wars," Lawrence Kellerman said. "I brought back some stuff, but the 8th Army let me take it back."
His son joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 1980, Lawrence Kellerman said, and was immediately accepted into the Special Forces. Throughout the `80s, he started several businesses, including a salvage business and a private security and training business.
But he also got into trouble. Court records show he was sentenced to probation on charges of dealing in stolen property in Broward in 1983 and carrying a concealed weapon in 1990.
David Kellerman later joined the U.S. Air Marshals. His dates of employment were unclear from documents, and federal officials were not available for comment Saturday.
Lawrence Kellerman hopes to speak to his son this week when he is transferred to Fort Lauderdale. He said he knows his son wasn't planning anything nefarious, but the charges are unsettling.
"I can't understand that, the explosives. I don't like that," he said. "I got a lot of warriors in my family and I'm proud of them. But what I read here doesn't make me feel too good."
KRT
posted by madtom at 12:49 AM
1 Comments:
souvenier, he`s got it comin
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