Henderson man faces federal weapons charges

Detectives watched as a man parked his car outside the North Las Vegas Detention Center and exit, leaving behind an AR-15, a .45 caliber handgun and ammunition inside the vehicle Wednesday morning.

Police seized the moment, according to a federal complaint filed Thursday, and detained the man, 38-year-old Timothy Anthony of Henderson.

On Thursday, authorities charged him with four counts of federal weapons violations in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Nevada.

After police searched his car and his home on Orange Jubilee Road, they came away with three handguns, three rifles, a shotgun, weapon magazines and ammunition, body armor, a rifle silencer and parts for weapons, the complaint states. Police said the guns found in the vehicle were not registered weapons.

Anthony is accused of possession of a firearm not registered, felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition and violent felon in possession of body armor, the complaint states.

Police arrested Anthony, and Friday night he was held in the Henderson Detention Center. His bond amount was set at $100,000, jail records show.

It was not clear from the complaint whether police knew why Anthony visited the jail Wednesday morning, but before he did, authorities were already planning to search his property for the weapons. According to the complaint, Henderson Justice Court Judge David Gibson on Monday signed a warrant for investigators to search Anthony’s vehicle and his home.

In a news release Friday announcing the charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada said Anthony was convicted previously of being a felon in possession of a firearm charge in California. He was also convicted of exhibiting a deadly weapon to police officer to resist arrest in Los Angeles County, the release said.

The complaint says Anthony told police he carries the rifle and body armor in his car for his general protection.

Left unexplained in the complaint was how authorities knew Anthony possessed the weapons and ammunition. Police did not specify a timeline of when Anthony began acquiring the weapons.

Reached Friday afternoon, Trisha Young, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office, said the investigating authorities would not discuss what they knew about when the man came into possession of the weapons.

But the complaint did say investigators obtained mail packages from some gun stores as well as notes about purchases from online gun sellers.

Police said the body armor and a shotgun found when the warrant was served were reported stolen from a police officer in San Diego, the complaint shows.

In the news release, the authorities said that, if convicted, Anthony could face more than 30 years in prison for the multiple charges.

Contact Dalton LaFerney at dlaferney@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0288. Follow @daltonlaferney on Twitter.