Police Find 1600 Knives in Convict's Home

Authorities also found names of officers and deputies

Investigators searching the home of a man who was arrested last week after he tried to bring four knives into a downtown Chicago court building found 1,600 more knives and other weapons as well as a list of court workers -- some with bull's eyes next to their names, authorities said Monday.

At a news conference, Sheriff Tom Dart and federal officials stood in front of a large table with dozens of different kinds of  knives, some with blades 12 inches long, others made of hard plastic that could slip through a metal detector. There were also brass knuckles, retractable police batons and five handguns.

"These things are horribly dangerous.  This is something that will obviously kill somebody," Dart said.

Arrested 18 times since 2000 and with a history of intimidating witnesses, public indecency and sneaking into judges' chambers, 48-year-old Kevin Long is on a threat list put together by the Northern Illinois Threat Assessment Task Force.

Of the list of court personnel, Dart spokesman Steve Patterson said there was no information to indicate any specific threates, but said it was clear Long was documenting names.

Long reportedly told authorities that he was going to use the law library at the Daley Center when he was arrested after security found four knives in his bag. 

"This is someone we're all very, very familiar with.  Yet you walk that line when public access is allowed into these buildings, but here you find someone frequenting places they're not supposed to be and then you come across this," Dart said.

He was initially charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. Dart's office later added another 47 counts of the same
charge because the items included 11 switchblades, 25 expandable police batons, 10 brass knuckles -- all illegal in Illinois -- and a working handgun, which a felon is prohibited from possessing. Dart said more charges might be added.

Long was released from the Illinois Department of Corrections last November after serving a three-and-a-half year sentence for witness intimidation.

Neighbors near Long's condo expressed relief over the arrest.

"He slashed the tires on my car, so we got that fixed," said Art Whiteside, who had a surveillance system mounted on his house.   "Then we got another camera so we could zero in on him better, and then when he broke the window of the car, that time the judge said, 'That's him.'"

Long was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon last week. He now faces several more charges after the police raid of his home. Because his arrest is a parole violation, he is being held without bond, the release said.

He is currently being held in the Cook County jail and is being represented by a county's public defender's office.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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