Police Seize More Than 30 Guns From Pasadena Home

PASADENA, Md. (AP) -- Police seized more than 30 guns -- including seven AK-47s -- along with several sets of body armor, ammunition and drugs from a Maryland house where investigators also found what looked like a sniper's position at the front door and other weapons set up at the windows.

Investigators were determining whether a man arrested on drug charges in the raid also broke gun laws.

Neighbors said police flooded the front yard Tuesday at the home on a quiet suburban street with one- and two-story houses not far from the Chesapeake Bay.

An Anne Arundel County police intelligence report obtained by The Associated Press said the weapons stash also included a Bushmaster rifle and an AR-15 rifle with scope, bag and bipod. Handguns and shotguns also were seized, along with ammunition that included a box of various gun magazines.

"The door was barricaded with a 4X4 piece of lumber and a scoped high-power rifle was set up facing the street," the report said. "On the stock of the weapon was sighting and distance information. Other weapons appeared to be pre-positioned at windows in the home."

Police from Anne Arundel and Baltimore city executed a search warrant Tuesday at the Pasadena home after receiving information about narcotics and firearms in the residence, said Justin Mulcahy, an Anne Arundel police spokesman.

"Numerous weapons were seized along with narcotics, and the investigation is active and ongoing," Mulcahy said. "Investigation into the legality of the weapons inside of the home is ongoing, but we're not at liberty to elaborate any further right now due to the ongoing investigation."

Police charged John M. Thompson, 45, with possession of marijuana and possession of marijuana paraphernalia. A judge released him Wednesday on $10,000 bond. He has not been charged with violating any gun laws.

A woman at the home declined to give her name or be interviewed.

Court records did not indicate Thompson had an attorney.

Ken Ryan, of the Baltimore field office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the ATF is investigating whether Thompson violated federal firearms laws. Ryan says authorities suspect he was manufacturing guns, but that wouldn't be illegal unless he was selling them or was prohibited from possessing them because of a criminal background.

In 1987, Thompson pleaded guilty to two theft charges and paid a $100 fine. A search of Maryland online court records found no other criminal charges.

Matt Roskam, a neighbor, said Thompson often works in a metal shop on the property, where police said they found guns, gun parts and ammunition.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)