A 54-year-old Ontario man admitted on Tuesday that he shot BB guns at a Pasadena Planned Parenthood nearly a dozen times and that he was carrying a loaded firearm during one of the attacks, according to the United States Department of Justice.
Richard Royden Chamberlin, 54, will plead guilty to the BB gun shootings, which are in violation of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, as well as possessing a .22-caliber handgun and ammunition while being a felon. He was convicted in 2012 on a felony charge of attempting to transport narcotics in Arizona.
Chamberlain, a former resident of Altadena, drove past Planned Parenthood and shot his BB gun at least 11 times in 2020 and 2021, according to a plea agreement.
“Chamberlin admitted that he intentionally conducted the attacks to intimidate and interfere with the clinic, its doctors, staff and patients specifically because the clinic was providing reproductive health services, including services related to the termination of pregnancies,” the DOJ said in a news release.
In addition to intimidating the staff of the clinic, the BBs shattered windows and nearly struck at least one person sitting on the front porch, though no one was injured in any of the shootings.
Chamberlain was stopped by the Pasadena Police Department as he drove away from the clinic following a May 7, 2021, attack, and police found “eight BB guns, including BB guns designed to look like assault rifles,” as well as a .22-caliber pistol with 10 rounds loaded, the release said.
After he was arrested, Chamberlain tried to get rid of a dozen guns, four by selling them to a local consignment store and eight by transferring ownership to a neighbor.
“During a subsequent search of his home, authorities recovered thousands of rounds of ammunition, gun powder, a dozen additional BB guns, a black cylinder resembling a suppressor, a Polymer 80 gun-making kit, various gun parts and multiple documents identifying and referring to Planned Parenthood,” the release added.
Chamberlain faces up to 10 years in federal prison for possessing the firearm as a felon, as well as up to a year in prison for the misdemeanor count of “forcible interference with the obtaining and provision of reproductive health services.”
No date has been set for Chamberlain to formally enter the guilty pleas.