Maryland man arrested after cops find 80 illegal guns, ammo in home

A 39-year-old man suspected of amassing an arsenal of firearms, including untraceable "ghost guns," has been taken into custody by St. Mary’s County authorities following a weeklong search.

Deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jerod Adam Taylor at his residence at around 7 p.m. Tuesday on outstanding warrants related to an investigation that began on November 7, when deputies initially responded to a domestic assault call in Lexington Park. 

During that investigation, authorities reportedly uncovered an extensive cache of weapons, including 80 firearms, multiple 3D-printed ghost guns, and an array of equipment used for manufacturing firearms.

In addition to the ghost guns, detectives seized a wide array of weaponry from Taylor’s home, including an AK-47, a fully automatic rifle, a short-barreled rifle, high-capacity magazines, suppressors, auto sears, more than 1,300 rounds of ammunition, body armor, and various gun-manufacturing tools.

Philip Bangle, Senior Litigation Counsel at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, emphasized the scale of the discovery. 

"He shouldn’t have had a single gun, and he has 80!" Bangle said, pointing to the dangers posed by the proliferation of ghost guns, which lack serial numbers and are difficult for law enforcement to track.

The suspect, 39-year-old Jerod Taylor, left the home before deputies arrived. 

Detectives believe Taylor was amassing firearms for trafficking purposes.

"It’s clearly a factory for trafficking firearms. There is no other explanation for that," Bangle remarked.

Bangle explained that the only difference between a traditional Glock and a ghost gun is the absence of a serial number, which makes ghost guns nearly impossible to trace once they enter the black market. 

"The buyers are typically criminals, juveniles, and prohibited persons," he added.

Since around 2017, ghost guns have appeared more frequently at crime scenes. 

The trend has accelerated in recent years, Bangle noted, pointing to incidents like the 2022 shooting at Magruder High School in Maryland, where a student allegedly used a ghost gun to injure another student.

Maryland took legislative action in spring 2022, passing a bipartisan bill banning ghost guns. However, Bangle argues more needs to be done to curb their availability. 

"There is nothing to stop one person from buying 80 to 100 to 500 ghost gun kits and setting up shop in their garage or basement," he said.

Taylor, who has previous convictions and an outstanding warrant for theft, is prohibited from owning firearms. 

He now faces multiple charges, including illegal possession of firearms and second-degree assault.