VAN NUYS, CA -- One of two San Fernando Valley men charged with carrying assault rifles while walking around the Inglewood area two months ago in military garb pleaded no contest Wednesday to a felony count.
Edmon Adonis Washington, 36, of Panorama City, was immediately sentenced to formal treatment and service at a veterans' program, five years probation and five days already served in custody following his plea to possession of an assault weapon, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Details were not immediately available about Washington's military service.
Washington and co-defendant Brook Thomas Lindsey, 30, of Encino, were charged Aug. 18 with one felony count each of possession of an assault weapon. Lindsey was also charged with a felony count of unlawful assault weapon activity.
The case against Lindsey is still pending. He is due back in a Van Nuys courtroom next Wednesday.
Two armed men dressed in military garb and carrying semi-automatic assault rifles were seen walking on Century Boulevard between Yukon Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard in Inglewood early on the morning of Aug. 16, police said.
Officers monitored their activity but took no action for the safety of several bystanders watching, according to Inglewood police Lt. Greg Held.
The men were walking the neighborhood in a Black Lives Matter-type protest, according to reports from the scene.
Police followed the men's vehicle to Foothill Boulevard and Terra Bella Street in the San Fernando Valley, where the vehicle was stopped and the two were taken into custody, authorities said.
LAPD Deputy Chief Bob Green told reporters that officers from his department began monitoring the men about 3 that morning.
"There was video footage of two individuals ... with what appeared to be assault rifles, body armor and Kevlar helmets," the deputy chief said. "So, investigatively, since then we've been moving forward to try and determine if these are legal assault weapons, and what the intentions of the individuals were."
The footage of their protest, which contains foul language, can be seen on Youtube.com.
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