‘Freeman’ Pleads Not Guilty to Charges
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A self-proclaimed “freeman” pleaded not guilty Thursday to eight felony charges of forgery and for allegedly using bogus money orders to buy semiautomatic rifles.
Investigators say Timothy Paul Kootenay, 35, used money orders created by the militant anti-government group called Family Farm Preservation.
Federal and local investigators said the money orders are worthless because they are backed by bogus liens levied in self-created “courts” by anti-government protesters. Kootenay, a former Thousand Oaks resident, was arrested in Montana on April 7 and extradited to Ventura County. The Ventura County Grand Jury indicted Kootenay in March on six felony charges of using fictitious money orders to buy six semiautomatic weapons via mail order.
Prosecutors added two additional felony charges of forgery on Wednesday.
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