A 57-year-old man identified in court records as the longtime companion of Los Angeles real estate mogul Cynthia Beck was behind bars for several hours overnight after police seized more than 1,000 guns — including some that authorities allege were fully automatic — from a home in Bel-Air. When investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Los Angeles Police Department arrived at the five-bedroom estate in the 100 block of North Beverly Glen Boulevard about 4 a.m. Wednesday, they were met with an unusual situation: The sprawling Bel-Air mansion, just down the street from a plethora of celebrity homes, was in complete disarray. For the record: An earlier version of this report misspelled Girard Saenz’s last name as Sainz. Authorities described the property as a hoarder’s paradise, with guns strewn throughout several of the home’s rooms. It took about 30 law enforcement personnel more than 12 hours to remove all the weapons, which included rifles, shotguns, assault weapons and pistols, authorities said. Girard Saenz, who was in the home at the time, was arrested on suspicion of violating California’s law regarding assault weapons and .50-caliber Browning machine guns. The law prohibits the manufacture, distribution, transportation, importation and sale of any assault rifle or .50-caliber weapon, except in specific circumstances. Advertisement The guns, which authorities say Saenz was selling, were laid in stacks atop blankets on the property’s winding driveway for officials to catalog. Eventually, the stockpile was loaded into the back of a large box truck and driven off the property. The weapons will be itemized and booked into evidence, said Lt. Chris Ramirez, an LAPD spokesman. “This is a big stash,” Ramirez told reporters at the scene. “It’s beyond comprehension that somebody can have so many weapons in a residence like this, in a neighborhood like this.” Authorities launched the investigation into the cache after they received an anonymous tip about a person manufacturing and selling guns at the Bel-Air home. The ATF said in a statement that its agents searched the house after discovering Saenz was illegally selling firearms outside the scope of the federal license he possesses. Law enforcement has not specified how any weapon sales were conducted. Saenz was released from custody shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday after posting $50,000 bond. He could not be reached for comment. 1 / 8 Authorities seized more than a thousand guns from a Holmby Hills home after getting an anonymous tip regarding illegal firearms sales in a posh area near the Playboy Mansion. They served a search warrant around 4 a.m. Wednesday. (KCBC/KCAL) 2 / 8 Investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the police inspect a large cache of weapons seized at a home in the affluent Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (KCBC/KCAL ) 3 / 8 A member of the media takes video of a home at 111 N. Beverly Glen Blvd., where the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives seized approximately 1,000 guns. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 8 This photo provided by the Los Angeles Police Department shows part of a large cache of weapons seized at a home in the affluent Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles. (Los Angeles Police Department ) 5 / 8 Authorities seized more than a thousand guns from a Holmby Hills home. (Los Angeles Police Department ) 6 / 8 Gun parts and ammunition are part of a large cache of weapons seized at a home in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles Wednesday. (Los Angeles Police Department ) 7 / 8 The LAPD confiscated numerous weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition from this home on Beverly Glen Boulevard in Holmby Hills. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 8 An unmarked police vehicle carrying the suspect drives away from the Holmby Hills home. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) Public records show the Bel-Air property is owned by Cynthia Beck, who has three daughters with J. Paul Getty’s son Gordon Getty. Beck bought the house in January 2001, but it remains unclear what, if any, connection she has to Wednesday’s events. Beck grabbed headlines in 1999 when news surfaced that Getty, who was married and had four grown sons, was the father of her three young daughters. In more recent years, Beck has accumulated a trove of properties in Los Angeles and San Francisco, some of which she owns with Saenz, according to public records. Advertisement It is unclear whether Beck lives at the home where the weapons were found. She could not be reached for comment Thursday. Saenz has been a licensed general building contractor since 1994 and operates a business that he started in the early 1990s in San Diego called Gerry Saenz and Associates, according to public records. Archives from a newspaper in Coronado from 1993 note that the business specialized in architectural environmental lighting and landscape design. Saenz’s current business address is a property on North Bunker Hill Avenue in Los Angeles, which he owns with Beck. The home was one of several locations searched by authorities Wednesday, law enforcement sources not authorized to speak publicly told The Times. Saenz was arrested in Malibu at a home on suspicion of brandishing a firearm in September 2017, but the matter was not considered for charges after the alleged victims told deputies they did not want to pursue the matter, according to a sheriff’s spokesman. Saenz was released within a few hours of being detained. Advertisement Public records indicate Saenz lived in the San Diego area with his ex-wife in the early 1990s and eventually moved to Los Angeles. Neighbors say the home where Saenz was arrested is normally quiet. “I was talking to my neighbors. Nobody knows who he is,” said resident Nicole DiGiorgio, a Queens, N.Y., native who was among the few people walking through the neighborhood, which lacks sidewalks but features gated driveways and sprawling lawns. “I walk up and down here all the time. I never see anyone come in or out.”<doc-sep>Today’s Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy<doc-sep>Over a thousand weapons were seized by authorities Wednesday, hoarded inside a home in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood Holmby Hills. Girard Saenz, 57, was arrested by Los Angeles Police officers at his mansion on charges of violating California's ban on assault weapons and .50 Browning Machine Gun rifles. He is reported to have stocked weapons in another location in Chinatown, per CNN. California law mostly prohibits manufacture, distribution, transportation, importation and sale of any assault rifle or .50 BMG rifles, and the complaint that led to Saenz's arrest involved the sale of firearms. More charges, including federal, could be brought. Officials say have not found any evidence connecting Saenz to terrorism. Reporting by Cheri Mossburg and Amanda Jackson, CNN: Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Los Angeles police officers served a search warrant in an investigation of someone suspected of manufacturing and selling illegal firearms, Los Angeles police Officer Jeff Lee said. The property resembled "a hoarder's house" and it took 30 law enforcement officers more than 15 hours to clear the house and remove all the weapons, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told CNN. Police also searched a home about 15 miles away, near Chinatown, the source said. ATF said in a written statement that authorities were informed anonymously that an individual was "conducting illegal firearms transaction outside the scope of the federal firearm license" possessed by the suspect. Police also seized *firearm manufacturing equipment* and related tools at his home. [PHOTOS OF WEAPONS SEIZED AT INCIDENT COURTESY LAPD/ATF]<doc-sep>A mural of George Floyd is shown in the intersection of 38th St & Chicago Ave on March 31, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Community members continue preparations during the third day in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with multiple counts of murder in the death of George Floyd. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 01: President Donald Trump's lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani talks to journalists outside the White House West Wing July 01, 2020 in Washington, DC. Giuliani did an on-camera interview with One America News Network's Chanel Rion before talking to other journalists about Vice President Joe Biden and the news that Russian intelligence may have paid Taliban operatives to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ORLANDO, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 28: Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency on February 28, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. Begun in 1974, CPAC brings together conservative organizations, activists, and world leaders to discuss issues important to them. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Here's what reported grand jury in Trump case may look like NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 09: People walk past the Trump Tower as the impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins in Washington on February 09, 2021 in New York City. After listening to nearly four hours of legal arguments, the Senate has voted on Tuesday to move ahead with the impeachment trial of former President Trump. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Report: US companies may have benefited from forced labor of Uyghurs WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the conflict in the Middle East from Cross- Hall of the White House on May 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. Israel and Hamas announced that they would agree to a cease-fire, which will take into effect on Friday, following days of fighting that claimed more than 200 lives. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 26: A view of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light-rail yard where a mass shooting occurred on May 26, 2021 in San Jose, California. A VTA employee opened fire at the yard, with preliminary reports indicating nine people dead including the gunman. (Photo by Philip Pacheco/Getty Images) A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Ontario on December 14, 2020. - Ontario, Canada's most populous province and one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, had 1,940 new cases and 23 deaths on Monday. The province is expected to give its next doses to nursing home workers as a priority, according to media reports. (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) 'Never seen levels like this': Union president on airline passenger misconduct Memorial Day weekend will bring rain and cool air for much of the East (CNN) — More than 1,000 guns were found in a home in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood of Holmby Hills, but authorities said there was no indication they were used in crimes. “At this time, there is no indication they were, but that could change as the investigation continues,” Ginger Colbrun, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Thursday. Authorities will trace all the weapons, she said. ATF agents and Los Angeles police officers on Wednesday executed a search warrant in an investigation of someone suspected of manufacturing and selling illegal firearms, Los Angeles police Officer Jeff Lee said. The property resembled “a hoarder’s house” and it took 30 law enforcement officers more than 15 hours to clear the house and remove all the weapons, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told CNN. Police also searched a home about 15 miles away, near Chinatown, the source said. Police arrested Girard Saenz, 57, at the first house over allegations of violating California’s law regarding assault weapons and .50 Browning Machine Gun rifles, Los Angeles police Lt. Chris Ramirez said. The law prohibits the manufacture, distribution, transportation, importation and sale of any assault rifle or .50 BMG rifles, except in specific circumstances, according to the California Legislature. Saenz posted $50,000 bail and was released Thursday morning. Details on the conditions of his release were not immediately available, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Marvin Crowder said. The Los Angeles District Attorney charged Saenz with a total of 64 felony counts, according to a news release. He has been charged with 23 counts of possessing an assault weapon, 17 counts of transferring a handgun with no licensed firearms dealer, 15 counts of unlawful assault weapon activity, seven counts of possessing of a short-barreled rifle or shotgun, and two counts of possessing a destructive device, according to the release. Saenz pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Monday morning in Los Angeles Superior Court, the release said. The DA’s office said the crimes took place between January 2016 and May 2019. The complaint that led to the arrest involved the sale of firearms, but the investigation remains ongoing, Ramirez said, and more charges, including federal counts, are possible. KABC Officers take inventory of guns outside a home in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles. Police didn’t release any more information about the arrest, but the law enforcement official said they have not found any evidence linking Saenz to terrorism. In aerial footage from the scene, hundreds of guns are seen scattered on what appears to be blankets in the driveway. The weapons range from handguns to rifles. Police can be seen taking inventory. The ATF’s Colbrun said in a written statement that authorities were anonymously tipped off that someone was “conducting illegal firearms transaction outside the scope of the federal firearm license” that the suspect possesses. Along with the weapons, firearm manufacturing equipment and tools were also found at the home. LAPD Los Angeles police share this image of the ammunition that officers found at the house. In 2015, Los Angeles police seized 1,200 guns, seven tons of ammunition and $230,000 in cash from a home.<doc-sep>
LOS ANGELES — A 57-year-old man identified in court records as the longtime companion of Los Angeles real estate mogul Cynthia Beck was arrested Wednesday after authorities seized more than 1,000 guns from a home in Holmby Hills. Girard Saenz was taken into custody on suspicion of unlawful transportation and of giving, lending or selling an assault weapon. He is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail, according to the Los Angeles Police Department and court records. Authorities discovered the cache of weapons while serving a search warrant at the home in the 100 block of North Beverly Glen Boulevard at 4 a.m. Wednesday as part of a joint LAPD and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigation. Police launched the probe after they received an anonymous tip about a person manufacturing and selling guns at the home, said Officer Mike Lopez, an LAPD spokesman. The Bel-Air mansion was described by authorities as a hoarder’s paradise with guns strewn throughout the house. Court records show the property is owned by Cynthia Beck, who has three daughters with J. Paul Getty’s son Gordon Getty. Beck bought the property in January 2001, but it remains unclear what, if any, connection she has to Wednesday’s events. Beck could not be reached for comment. Public records show Beck and Saenz together own several pieces of property in Los Angeles and an office building in San Francisco. Saenz has been a licensed general building contractor since 1994 and operates a business called Gerry Saenz and Associates, according to public records. The business address is a home on North Bunker Hill Avenue in Los Angeles that he owns with Beck. The ATF said in a statement that its agents searched the Holmby Hills home after discovering an individual was illegally selling firearms outside the scope of the federal license the person possesses. Video of the raid shows what appear to be ATF officials reviewing the trove of guns stacked on the ground, examining boxes and taking photographs of evidence. The stockpile of weapons — which included rifles, shotguns, assault weapons and pistols — was loaded into the back of a large box truck and driven off the property. The weapons will be itemized and booked into evidence, said Lt. Chris Ramirez, an LAPD spokesman. Jaclyn Cosgrove, Hannah Fry, Richard Winton and Alejandra Reyes-Velarde are Los Angeles Times writers.