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Murder suspect said he was stealing guns for group plotting to overthrow the government.

Police in south-central Pennsylvania have arrested prison guard Raymond Franklin Peake for the murder of Todd Getgen on July 21 at a Pennsylvania Game Commission shooting range. What’s most disturbing about this incident is why Peake is involved. Peake told police that he found Getgen already dead and “stole his rifle so it could be used by an extremist group bent on overthrowing the U.S. government.” The AP reports:

Camp Hill State Prison guard Raymond Franklin Peake III wouldn’t name the group but said a fellow guard accused of helping him steal attorney Todd Getgen’s AR-15 also was a member, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Peake told (investigators) that he would kill to defend his country and he was stealing weapons to defend his country,” wrote North Middleton Township police Detective Timothy Lively.

The charges against Peake include homicide, robbery, and other offenses. A key break in the case was a witness who remembered seeing a man driving a vehicle with a license plate that said “combat wounded” — “apparently one of the military plates for Purple Heart recipients that say ‘Combat Wounded Veteran‘ on the bottom.” The license plate was eventually traced back to Peake. (HT: TP reader AG)

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