Armed and Dangerous: The Hunt for One of America's Most Wanted Criminals

by William Queen, Douglas Century

A former ATF agent describes his 1985 mission to apprehend Mark Stephens, a deranged, violent drug trafficker who had been terrorizing communities around Los Angeles with his rampages.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Audiobook, Biography, Memoir

273 pages, Hardcover

First published June 8, 2007

Reviews

[Peacegal · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars -- I listened to this true crime on audiobook. It was OK, but the narrator could be too much of a tough guy for my tastes. I'm more interested in procedure/forensics/psychology in tracking down criminals. I also get the feeling the baddie in the book's central case would have been pretty much ignored--despite his propensity for violence--if he hadn't been growing a whole lot of pot, too.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but for an America's most wanted he sure did give up a lot easier then I was expecting but still scary for the cops.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very average book. I thought it would be a lot more interesting, but sadly it was merely okay and at times a bit boring. I listened to the book on audio and maybe it was partly the narrator. He was somewhat boring, but who knows where the fault lies. It wasn't as fascinating as I had expected it would be. Only 2 stars.

[Themountainbookie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not really sure why this book was written. I was expecting more explanations on things that were just plan over looked. There was so much tough guy and macho in the main character that it was hard to connect to him. One sentence of this case kind of overtook my life. Uhh elaborate? Then we come to find out the case was over months (I was expecting longer).
I also expected the “bad guy” to be a little more... bad. This manhunt was for someone who was growing pot on federal land, but hadn’t killed anyone🤷🏼‍♀️. Seemed a little overkill to me. But this is the 80s so maybe things weren’t as dangerous. I kept thinking that something was going to get worse or there would be a plot twist. Sorry... the plot twist is there are no plot twists.
Overall it’s an average book that I wouldn’t recommend. There’s gotta be better crime or ATF books out there.

[Jenn McEvoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This audiobook was interesting but, quite boring at times. I felt like the narrator made the book drag on and it was longer than it needed to be.

Also, I had to think about what “humping up the mountain” meant 😂. It means going up. Honestly, I feel like he used the word humping too much and could have said going up or waking up.

I wish I would have skipped this one.

[Shawn McAlister · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing True Heros

Great true story of our wArriors undercover. T g e story shows the commitment, drive and I initiative it took to take a b ad hombre down.

[Kathyanngallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, written to keep the reader's interest while the good guys once again prevail!

[john · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great bedside reader

I really enjoyed this book, although my favorite is still under and alone. It was great reading about Billy Queen prior to his infiltration with the Mongols

[Luke Listermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book because It is a police book and Federal Agent and I like anything police related.

[Trenton Weekes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Quick read.

[Matt Kolbet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very masculine book, sometimes exceedingly so.

[Wendy Leonard-Richardson]

This one wasn't nearly as entertaining as the other book by this author (about the Mongols). The emotion just wasn't there. It did give some insights into the ATF organization.

[Max Hanawalt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really cool book about an epic takedown of a scary guy with guns and weed!

[Harvey Kemper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding Book

All policemen active or retired would enjoy this book. The details of dangerous operations are all through the book. You can’t help but get hooked reading it.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's OK but very basic.

[Denise Makuh Mierzwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was detailed

His first book was better, in my opinion. Interesting how someone could live in the woods like the one suspect did.

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author William Queen is a retired decorated agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) who is best known for going undercover and taking on the Mongols in the San Fernando Valley. In this book he tells us a story of dealing with another criminal before his days of taking on the Mongols. Back in 1985 Queen was dealing with a case of trying to apprehend a criminal name Mark Stephens who sold marijuana to local dealers and also terrorized the San Bernardino community. Queen first heard of Stephens from his contacts with local law enforcement agency. Whenever Queen asked them who was their toughest criminal in the neighborhood the name was always the same: Mark Stephens. What made it difficult for the police to apprehend Stephens was that he hid himself in a difficult part of the San Bernardino Mountains and his coming and going into town was spontaneous and highly unpredictable. Stephens was also a dangerous man who is armed with machine guns and homemade grenades. The more Stephens terrorized the community the more obsessed Queen became with apprehending Stephens. Along the way Queen also had to deal with other non-related cases that is typical of ATF field agents. The book tells the story of a man who is dedicated in his job of going after criminals. He is no paper pusher and loves the job of undercover work and kicking down door. As the book progresses you also learn more of Queen’s own life—how he was a Vietnam War Veteran of the Special Forces, how he bucks his superiors but also know where he crossed the line and the mutual respect of his fellow agents for each other. The book is exciting and funny.

What’s in it for the Christian: The author’s sense of justice is a great example for everyone. There is a moral right—and a moral wrong. William Queen is a sheep dog who has the high sense of duty of protecting the innocent from getting hurt—which is the motivation for why he wants to get his suspect before he hurt someone again. As Romans 13 teaches us, we must honor those who are God’s agent of order in the government and we can read this book to honor and appreciate those in law enforcement. The author’s courage is also a great virtue that Christians should seek to cultivate—and courage is one of those virtues that is best picked up from the examples of others.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

When William Queen started as an ATF agent in the Los Angeles area, all the cops around agreed on one thing: enemy #1 was that psycho who lived in the mountains, Mark Stephens. He wasn't part of a gang, and he didn't have a pattern. He simply appeared from the wilderness every few weeks to stick pistols into the mouths of dope dealers and demand his money. While he hadn't managed to kill anyone yet, he was an object of terror to cop and criminal alike, and daredevil Queen knew this was a man that needed taking down. Armed and Dangerous is a semiautobiographical account of the months Queen spent working on a case against Stephens, with reports of other busts mixed in, like that of a raid against a gang of skinheads. To infiltrate them, Queen used a persona he'd been playing around with, that of a southern biker with fondness for dope and tenuous ties to a Klan-based organization. (That persona would become his full-time identity later on when he infiltrated the Mongols, recorded in Under and Alone)

Although Queen's account builds toward finally convincing his bosses that infiltrating the mountain wilderness and hunting for Stephens' camp is worthwhile, Stephens' actual arrest is tame after the dangerous climb and the escape amid a forest fire. What isn't tame is William Queen himself, a Vietnam special forces vet who tried racing until it proved too expensive a hobby. He's definitely an adrenaline junkie, but happily his energies are targeted against actual psychopaths instead of blowing up people's homes to serve warrants, warrior-cop style. This is a fast read, and not as substantial as Under and Alone, but fitting if you're in the mood for eighties cops heroics.

[Peter Andrus · Rating 4 out of 5]

i rated this 4 stars, but i was between 3 and 4.

First off, let me say that i really liked this book.....

Bill Queen is the MAN. He's an obvious adrenaline junkie, and loves the thrill of the chase and the takedown. He tells some amazing stories that sound like they could be prequels to Tom Clancy books. Some of the stories he told about busts that had nothing to do with Marc Stephens (the baddie in this book) were way more intense than anything else in the story.

there is some coarse language in the book, but nothing out of the ordinary.

I LOVED the story about the blasting caps in the high school parking lot. AMAZING stuff, and good proof of how good intentions can (and often do) go awry.

The biggest beef i have with this book, and the reason i rated in 4, almost 3 stars is the ending.....
He gives a big run-up to the ending, and even touts the end as this big firefight in the pictures and other places, and then it goes out not with a bang but pretty much a whimper. The firestorm part was pretty awesome (and the fate of the weed and guns was hilarious). Maybe i'm just too accustomed to Hollywood endings and expected Stephens to go down in a blaze of glory....?

I liked this book and i would recommend it, especially since it can easily be read in 1-2 days. i did it in 2 with breaks for work, family...etc.

[Roby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the characterization in this book. The way they explained the characters was outstanding. Right at the beggining the author makes it clear who the good guy and the bad guy are with his keen use of characterization. The author explains William Queens backround in the outdoors as a kid and i think this is very neccesary due to the fact that stephens is very violent and lives deep in the hills above Los Angelas. The theme is determination in my opnion because William Queen wanted nothing more than to catch Mark Stephens."I think we ought to go up in the hills and take stephens out. Just you and me. Fuck the adminners. He's going to kill someone soon, I know it." Show just how determined he was to get this guy. I think the plot was good but it was kinda obvious what would happen at the end. They give it all away to fast. Every now and then something new pops up but very rarely.

[Karenbike Patterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

William Queen is an ATF agent looking for a dangerous criminal in the mountains outside San Bernadino CA. Queen also is a Vietnam Vet and has had lots of other manly experience in law enforcement and training people. He likes risk. You'll learn lots about Queen and some about the man he is chasing. The book makes it sound like this criminal is really, really dangerous because he has guns and is hidden up the mountain growing weed.
Finally Queen gets permission to pursue the guy with help from other people. They capture the guy. They arrest him for ...... illegal growing and selling weed?@!$%! Really?
The epilogue is how Queen and his buddies get together and relive old times and what heroes they all are.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

if you're going to write a true story, do it with personality, don't just recount the facts. this was really not that interesting, to be honest. Cyril-bad-guy hides in the woods, shoots up some stuff and Billy-the-good-guy wants to take him down but is thwarted by the beauracracy. until he isn't, and then he wins, the end. might have meant more to me if I had lived in that neighborhood at that time.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not so sure, in the end, that the target was "One of America's Most Wanted." Certainly he was one of Queen's most wanted.
It is an enjoyable, quick read, probably to be read mostly by police and former police. The usual criticisms of upper management. He seems to speak his mind, although no doubt he has to hold back on his real feelings in some cases.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent narration. Fast paced. Queen explains cop terms to the layperson. He is also a no-nonsense, no-bs federal agent on the hunt of a sociopath Unabomber/Eric Rudolph type who lives way up in the hills in the middle of nowhere and has a penchant for machine guns. Very dangerous mission to capture this guy. Queen is awesome!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book was pretty interesting, I kept comparing it to Queen's first book Under and Alone. This book really didn't compare to the first. I still learned a lot and came away with a increased respect for federal law enforcement.

[Bela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too short and the print was too big, dammit! I read this on vacation so it was over way too fast. I want to re-read his other fascinating book on his 2 years undercover in the Mongols Motorcycle gang.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being familiar with the areas talked about, it was easy to visualize all this going on. Denny's in woodland hills, Taft high shutdown, traffic in downtown. Ventura, San bernadino mountains, it was something. Mongols and the copspeak felt like I was there

[Marci · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character/author certainly does not lack confidence in his abilities! An interesting read, even more interesting, I feel almost positive that this character must be what the main character in the TV show "Justified" is based on!

[Mike Hickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read! Extremely interesting story about the determination of one ATF Agent who makes it his personal goal to apprehend a very violent criminal..

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting and a quick read.