Deputies seize more than 130 guns from felon

Andrew Jackson Simmons (Photo: Bladen County Sheriff’s Office)

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Investigators in Bladen County say they seized more than 130 weapons from a felon.

Bladen County Sheriff James McVicker says deputies arrested Andrew Jackson Simmons, 72, of Kelly Friday following an extensive investigation.

Simmons is charged with one count of felonious possession of a firearm by a felon, and four counts of possession of a weapon of mass destruction.

Bladen County investigators say they seized more than 130 weapons from a felon. (Photo: Bladen County Sheriff’s Office)

“The definition of weapons of mass destruction in this state includes weapons that are fully automatic and weapons that have a barrel length or overall length that is below those required by law,” McVicker said in a news release. “In this case we located one weapon capable of fully automatic fire and three weapons that were too short to be legally possessed. This was an extremely large seizure of weapons, and it took almost the entire day just to locate, inventory and collect the weapons.”

McVicker says Simmons was booked in jail under a $250,000 bond ahead of a first appearance today. Records show Simmons has since bonded out of jail.

The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office says Simmons was convicted on a federal environmental crime in 2003.