President Donald Trump was due at his Rancho Palos Verdes golf club Tuesday when a security investigation there led deputies to arrest a Downey man carrying ammunition, a loaded pistol and another loaded magazine. A search of the man’s home turned up an illegally modified rifle, body armor, radio-signal devices and notebooks investigators described as containing concerning statements.
On Sunday afternoon, plainclothes federal agents reported a suspicious person on the Trump National Golf Club grounds, according to a release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies said the person, identified as 38-year-old Downey resident Jeanine John Taele, was walking around taking photos and videos while appearing to monitor security-planning activity. Taele was also under investigation by El Segundo police in an unrelated robbery case, the department said.
Deputies said they found a 16-round magazine loaded with hollow-point ammunition in Taele’s pants. A search of the vehicle located a loaded pistol with a round chambered and another loaded magazine containing hollow-point ammunition, CBS Los Angeles reported. Taele was booked on allegations of carrying a concealed firearm and possessing armor-piercing or prohibited ammunition.
Search Of Downey Home Turns Up More Weapons
Detectives from the Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Bureau, working with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, obtained a warrant and searched Taele’s Downey residence on Monday, according to the sheriff’s department release. Investigators said they recovered an illegally modified AR-platform rifle, a 1911 .45-caliber pistol, an AR-platform upper receiver, body armor, high-capacity magazines and bulk pistol and rifle ammunition. They also found two radio-signal devices and multiple notebooks containing what officials called concerning statements, although authorities have not disclosed their contents.
LASD said the case was being handled in coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the U.S. Secret Service, and investigators presented it to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration Tuesday morning. Trump was scheduled to attend a Republican National Committee fundraising dinner at the golf course Tuesday, according to CBS Los Angeles. Officials said they had identified no credible threat to local communities, while warning that additional charges could be added as the investigation continues.
Booked, But No Conviction Has Been Announced
Taele remains in custody, and the public record currently describes an arrest and booking rather than a conviction. The booking allegations cite California Penal Code section 25400(a)(1), which addresses carrying a concealed firearm, and section 31310 for prohibited ammunition; the relevant California code does not determine what charges prosecutors will ultimately file.
Sunday’s arrest follows a separate armed-person case near the same golf course in March. In that incident, deputies arrested Glendale resident Sean Steiner after reports said he was moving through nearby trails in rifle-rated body armor with a rifle and other guns; Hoodline previously reported. Authorities have not announced any connection between the two cases.
