A teen and his grandfather were arrested at their home for running a ghost gun operation where they would allegedly manufacture AR-15s in a makeshift shed out of their backyard.
Clayton Hobby, 18, and Kerry Schunk, 64, were taken into custody on Monday by East Hampton Police after a neighbor learnt of the pair’s activity over the weekend, the reported.
Several ghost guns, including multiple AR-15s at ‘various stages of assembly’ and three polymer handguns, as well as 15 high capacity magazines, a bullet proof vest with local police badges on it and approximately 1,000 rounds of ammunition were seized by local authorities.
It was reported that one of the larger AR-15 rifles was converted to shoot fully automatic, just like a machine gun.
The pair were both charged in connection with the secret operation. Hobby was arrested on 23 counts of gun making and weapons possession. He is currently being held on a $250,000 bond, according to a press release from East Hampton Police.
Schunk was handed 22 conspiracy counts in relation to the illegal activity.He was also charged with interfering with an officer and was held on a $100,000 bond, the press release added.
East Hampton police discovered and confiscated a extensive amount of illegal ghost handguns and several AR-15 rifles, as well as magazines, a bullet proof vest, police patches, approximately 1,000 rounds of ammunition and a far-right book: ‘Poor Man’s James Bond’
Clayton Hobby, 18, was arrested on 23 counts of gun making and weapons possession charges and was being held on a $250,000 bond. Hobby’s grandfather, Kerry Schunk, 64, was charged with 22 conspiracy counts in relation to the undercover operation, and one charge of interfering with an officer
Privately made firearms, also known as ghost guns or homemade firearms, are broken down into parts that usually come in a kit and need assembling.
In the US, they lack a commercially-applied serial number, which make them untraceable.On Monday, the guns found had fake serial numbers on them, the reported.
Overall, ghost guns are illegal in Connecticut but those that were manufactured before 2019 were ruled as an exception and require a serial number.
Among the stash of illegal weapons that were found was also a book with a far-right narrative, titled ‘Poor Man’s James Bond’, written by American neo-Nazi author Klay Claxton.
Similar to the Anarchist Cookbook, these type of novels embody far-right militia ideologies and thoughts, as well as ways to build improvised weapons, bombs and munition.
The discovery was made earlier this week after a neighbor was worried about the illegal activity, conducted in the shed of the home’s yard in East Hampton, Connecticut
One of the AR-15 rifles found at the home which was surrounded by other weapons
A bullet proof vest which appeared to have two patches from the local police force on them
Among the stash of illegal weapons that were found was also a book with a far-right narrative, titled ‘Poor Man’s James Bond’, written by American neo-Nazi author Klay Claxton
They are also often found on crime scenes, particularly in incidents related to targeted shootings or illegal gun activity.
After the pair’s arrest, Hobby told local police he bought the weapons and 6.5 Creedmoor Ammo in Stock For Sale online, the Middletown Press reported.He said he made the purchases to protect his family and didn’t have the intent to use them to hurt people.
On Monday, Schunk reportedly walked inside a East Hampton Police station and inquired on the ‘legalities of building an AR-15’ wit his grandson, according to the local outlet.Schunk raised questions to police to ensure that he and his grandson were within the law to build the weapon, which he also raised to officers.
He further said told cops at the station that his grandson had received the rifle in the mail several months ago and that it did not have a serial number, prompting him to ‘smash it apart with a hammer’ before he ‘threw it away’, a police reported on both individuals’ arrests stated.Once he was in custody, Schunk confessed to police that he had lied.
He further told cops that he and Hobby had not purchased any further gun parts or assembled any firearms since then.
Police then asked Schunk to provide a written statement, which he did not do.The 64-year-old then left the station in a hurry, telling officers that he would be back with his grandson to explain their activity.
Authorities, however, grew worried that Schunk would go back to the shed where he helped Hobby with assembling different types of weapons and would destroy the rifle that he had initially inquired about.
When they arrived at the family home, police saw Schunk walk up to it before he reportedly told them: ‘I got some things to take care of.’
‘Everything is mine,’ Hobby told police officers when they discovered the hideout, the police report states.’My grandfather had nothing to do with it.’
After that, police found all the weapons, including the automatic rifle, and several backpacks loaded with gun parts, tools to assemble them, metal ammunition and a holster.
The arrests were made after the discovery, but Schunk told police his grandson was a good kid and ‘did not believe Hobby had any evil intentions,’ the police report said.
The pair’s court dates are unknown.