Handgun Seized From Orangevale Home Of Alleged Neo-Nazi Group Leader Andrew Casarez
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — We are learning more about Orangevale resident Andrew Casarez who has been unmasked as the alleged leader of a neo-nazi group.
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office used social media posts to convince a judge to allow them to search Casarez's home. It's an unprecedented move that may have prevented Casarez from carrying out serious crimes, the sheriff's office said.
READ MORE: Alleged Leader Of Neo-Nazi Group Identified As Orangevale Resident Andrew Casarez
Casarez has been identified by the sheriff's office as the leader of a neo-nazi hate group called the "Bowl Patrol."
"I would never expect anything like this to be going on especially here in Orangevale, its always quiet," Anthony Denigris said.
Local law enforcement is taking immediate steps to make sure it can stay that way.
"This is in Sacramento County and we were not going to wait for somebody to get hurt," sheriff's office spokesperson Lacey Nelson said.
Earlier this month the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office served Casarez a gun violence restraining order along with a search warrant for an Orangevale residence related to him.
"He was putting some anti, we'll say some racist rhetoric on an assumed Facebook page that was not under his actual name. It was under the name Vic Mackey," Nelson said.
READ: Sheriff: Woman Shot By Passenger While Driving With 4 Children On River Road
Investigators believe Casarez uses the pseudonym Vic Mackey online.
The social media posts were enough to convince a judge to allow the sheriff's department to take action. Neighbors saw the raid.
"I have kids myself, they come over here all the time, so yeah it's scary," Denigris said.
Officers discovered several items inside the Casarez residence including a black gun case with two empty magazines, and a semi-automatic pistol.
"Whatever firearm they seized inside that house was his," Nelson said.
They also found a skull and crossbones t-shirt with a bowl cut hairstyle printed on the front.
The Southern Poverty Law Center says the bowl cut hairstyle photoshopped into pictures is meant to convey a sense of approval for the actions carried out by the now-convicted mass murderer Dylann Roof. Roof's bowl-style haircut is the inspiration for the name "Bowl Patrol," a group experts say is extremely dangerous.
"Right-wing extremists have been responsible for more deaths since 9/11 than any other ideological cohort," Howard Graves with the Southern Poverty Law Center said.
A hearing has been scheduled for Friday morning in Sacramento Superior Court to discuss whether the 21-day restraining order served on Casarez that prohibits him from having a firearm should be extended.
