Larry Madrid, 63, says he wakes up every morning at 4:30 a.m. sharp, gets out of bed and checks his front door.
Four months have passed since police busted down the door to the small Atwater Village home his family has owned for generations, handcuffing him and his son as part of an early-morning gang sweep. But the feelings of violation are still fresh.
"You can't imagine how belittling it was," said Madrid, a soft-spoken Vietnam-era veteran with a graying mustache and a fatherly paunch. "They didn't even let my son's girlfriend get dressed. They pulled her out in her panties and a tank top and they're all men out there."
According to police, Madrid allowed members of the notorious Toonerville street gang to store guns and drugs in his home. The longtime resident, who has no criminal record, is being charged with possession of an illegal assault weapon with a gang enhancement. In a search of his property, authorities found 48 firearms, most of which were unregistered or stolen, according to court records. They were stashed all over, one under a sofa cushion, others in an ottoman, more in the attic.
Madrid, a lifetime member of the National Rifle Assn., says he's simply a gun enthusiast with dozens of collectibles, some dating as far back as the Civil War. He flatly denies the charges against him.
The raid has befuddled some residents in the tightknit neighborhood, who have come to know Madrid as a caring father and an upstanding and active community member.
"This is crazy," said Noemi Velazquez, 47, a neighbor. "He goes to church every weekend and he's always very active in the community." Velasquez recalled Madrid's being the first to offer a hand as she moved into her home across the street five years ago. Other residents echoed similar sentiments about the Madrids, but the city attorney's office says police have received anonymous complaints about gang activity on the property.
Madrid, who worked as an administrator at a trucking company for more than two decades, retired recently to focus on the criminal charges he faces.
According to court files, police served half a dozen search warrants on the morning of July 9 within Toonerville street gang turf, an area north of Los Feliz Boulevard between San Fernando Road and the Los Angeles River. Law enforcement agents arrested some 20 alleged members of the predominantly Latino gang, including four murder suspects, and a dozen others on charges of drug and weapons violations.
