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Man who attacked Planned Parenthood clinic in Pasadena to plead guilty

A convicted felon from Ontario who fired a BB gun at a Planned Parenthood facility in Pasadena 11 times has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge for interfering with women seeking abortions, according to court papers filed on Tuesday, Nov. 28.

Richard Royden Chamberlin, 54, also admitted that he was carrying a loaded .22-caliber handgun during one attack, according to his plea agreement filed in Los Angeles federal court.

Chamberlin acknowledged driving past the Planned Parenthood facility in Pasadena and firing his BB gun at the clinic at least 11 times from June 2020 to May 2021. Chamberlin admitted that he conducted the attacks to intimidate and interfere with the clinic, its doctors, staffers and patients because the clinic was providing reproductive health services, including services related to the termination of pregnancies.

No one was injured.

Chamberlin fired BB pellets from his car, damaging the clinic, including shattering windows. During one attack, a patient’s companion was seated on the front porch and nearly hit, federal prosecutors said.

On May 7, 2021, Pasadena police stopped Chamberlin while he was driving away from the clinic following a BB-gun attack. On the front-passenger seat, authorities said, police found a backpack with a .22-caliber pistol, loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition.

During a search of his home, authorities recovered thousands of rounds of ammunition, gun powder, a dozen additional BB guns, a gun-making kit, various gun parts and multiple documents referring to Planned Parenthood, court papers show.

Chamberlin agreed to plead guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, a felony that carries a penalty of up to 10 years in federal prison, and one count of forcible interference with the obtaining and provision of reproductive health services, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison.

A date for Chamberlin to appear in federal court in downtown Los Angeles to formally enter the guilty pleas had not yet been set.

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