Police: Man with guns sought balcony near MLB All-Star Game

DENVER (AP) — A man described by authorities as the leader of a group of four people arrested with more than a dozen weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a Denver hotel near events planned for the upcoming Major League Baseball All-Star Game asked to extend his stay and requested another room with a balcony, according to arrest documents released Monday.

The request by Ricardo Rodriquez coupled with the discovery of weapons and tactical gear on Friday concerned police because of the "propensity for mass casualty incidents in scenarios such as the above where many people are gathered together in a small area for a single event,” one of the documents said. However, the documents did not contain any evidence that they were planning violence against people participating in All-Star Game events.

On Sunday, the FBI said it had no reason to believe the arrests were connected to terrorism or that there was a threat against the game. However, police Chief Paul Pazen said the same day that police still needed to investigate why they were in the hotel. Police declined to comment on the investigation Monday beyond providing the arrest documents.

Rodriquez, 44, was arrested for investigation of possessing weapons as a previous offender after a housekeeper at the hotel spotted some guns and notified her boss. Richard Platt and Gabriel Rodriguez were both arrested for investigation of possessing a weapon as a previous offender and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Kanoelehua Serikawa was arrested for investigation of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and for a warrant from another jurisdiction.

In a video interview in jail, Ricardo Rodriguez told KCNC-TV he had arrived from Washington State on Thursday, planning to move to Colorado, when mutual friends...

source https://www.chron.com/news/article/Police-Man-with-guns-sought-balcony-near-MLB-16309963.php