Lewes police arrested a Maryland man on Tuesday after locating an abandoned truck filled with multiple firearms and ammunition at Savannah Beach.
Officials said shortly after midnight, officers encountered 30-year-old Alexander Gard in the 400 block of East Savannah Road. Gard told police his truck had been stolen earlier from a Wawa on Route 1. Officers offered to assist him in filing a report, but he declined and said a friend would pick him up.
At 6:30 a.m., officers were called to Savannah Beach where a truck was found stuck in the sand. The vehicle, which had its license plates removed, was registered to Gard. Attempts to locate him were unsuccessful. A search of the truck uncovered three 9mm handguns, a tactical 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15 style rifle with a scope, edged weapons, brass knuckles, and several hundred rounds of ammunition.
Out of caution, Cape Henlopen School District placed area schools in a SECURE status while the search for Gard continued. Investigators later determined through social media that he was staying at an Airbnb on Minos Conaway Road. With assistance from the Delaware State Police, officers arrested him without incident around 10:30 a.m.
Police said Gard is a convicted felon in Virginia and currently on probation in Maryland. He was charged with five counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony by a person prohibited and six counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person prohibited due to a prior violent felony.
Gard was arraigned and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on $65,000 secured bail. Authorities stated they have found no evidence of a larger plan but confirmed that he was illegally possessing and transporting the weapons.
