Man charged after truck found on beach with weapons cache

A Maryland man faces weapon charges after police say they found his pickup truck stranded on Lewes Beach Sept. 23, with multiple weapons and ammunition inside.

Lewes police were first called at 12:30 a.m. to the 400 block of E. Savannah Road for a report of a man possibly suffering from mental health issues. Police contacted the man, Alexander Gard, 30, who told them his truck had been stolen hours earlier from the Wawa on Route 1. Gard told police he was looking for his pickup truck but declined to report it stolen when officers offered to take him to Delaware State Police Troop 7. Gard told police he would contact a friend to pick him up.

About 6:30 a.m., police said, officers responded to Lewes Beach at the end of Savannah Road for a Ford Ranger stranded in the sand near the water. The pickup was unsecured with no occupants, police said, and the license plates had been removed. A computer check revealed the truck belonged to Gard. The pickup was towed. Inside, police said, they found three 9mm handguns, a tactical 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15-style scoped rifle, multiple edged weapons, brass knuckles, a bow and several hundred rounds of ammunition.

As police were searching for Gard, Cape Henlopen School District officials placed area schools in a secure status. Members of the Lewes Police Department quickly followed several leads and, using social media, learned that Gard was staying at an Airbnb outside Lewes. Officers from Lewes Police Department, with the assistance of the Delaware State Police, responded to a location on Minos Conaway Road about 10:30 a.m., and Gard was taken into custody without incident.

Police said Gard is homeless, a convicted felon in the State of Virginia, and on probation in the State of Maryland. He was arrested and charged with five counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and six counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person prohibited due to prior violent felony crime. He was arraigned and committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution in default of $65,000 secured bail.

Police Chief Thomas Spell said there is no evidence Gard had any larger intent or plan. 

“We searched his vehicle, and there were no letters or a manifesto, so we don’t think there was any plan for an active shooting,” he said. “He had left Maryland and his vehicle was filled with belongings.”