SEATTLE – The man accused of jumping over the fence at The White House and sprinting inside the building Saturday was once stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
A U.S. Army spokesperson confirmed that Sgt. Omar Jose Gonzalez served from July 1997 to September 2003, then re-enlisted in July 2005 and retired under disability in December 2012.
The Army said Gonzales was once assigned to 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment at JBLM, but could not be specific on when Gonzales was stationed there.
Gonzales also was stationed twice at Fort Hood and served more than year in Iraq.
Investigators found more than 800 rounds Gonzalez's car, a federal prosecutor said Monday. A machete and two hatchets also were found.
In a federal court proceeding, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Mudd declared that Gonzalez, was a danger to the president. Gonzalez was arrested just inside the White House front door.
President Barack Obama and his family had left the White House for Camp David Friday evening when the incident occurred. Obama's spokesman said Monday that the president was "obviously concerned" about what happened.
Mudd also disclosed that Gonzalez was already under indictment in Virginia, accused of having a sawed-off shotgun and eluding police in a case this summer. Wythe County Deputy Commonwealth Attorney David Saliba said Gonzales had a map of Washington, D.C., and Mudd said in court on Monday that the White House was circled on the map.
Saliba also said Gonzalez had the sawed-off shotgun, two powerful rifles, four handguns and other guns and ammunition in his Ford Bronco when troopers stopped him in southwestern Virginia on July 19.
Saliba said Gonzalez initially tried to flee troopers, weaving and driving off the road into a highway median.
Gonzalez was arrested at the scene after a trooper found the illegal shotgun in his car. The ammunition and weapons, including a tomahawk hatchet, were seized.
