Gard waives preliminary hearing

The Maryland man who was arrested for having a truck full of weapons on Lewes Beach waived his preliminary hearing in Court of Common Pleas and will take his case to Delaware Superior Court in Georgetown.

Alexander Gard, 30, is facing multiple felony weapons charges and is being held at Sussex Correctional Institution in Georgetown on $65,000 secured bail. Gard is being represented by the Sussex County office of the state Office of Defense Services, the public defender’s office. 

In the early morning hours of Sept. 23, Lewes Police Department responded to the 400 block of E. Savannah Road for a report of a man possibly suffering from mental health issues. Officers made contact with Gard, the man in question, who told them he was looking for his truck, which he said had been stolen from a Wawa on Route 1. Police said Gard declined to report the vehicle stolen, and Gard said he would contact a friend to pick him up. 

At 6 a.m., Sept. 23, Lewes police responded to the beach off Savannah Road, where a Ford Ranger was unoccupied on the sand. The tags had been removed and the tool to take the tags off was sitting on the bumper of the truck. Inside the truck were weapons and ammunition including a Winchester shotgun, a Stag 15 rifle with scope, three handguns – a Walther and two Sig Sauers – a wooden bow, a Katana sword and sheath, three 6-inch fixed-blade throwing knives, brass knuckles and a K-Bar-style fixed-blade knife. Police said a search of the glove box turned up Gard’s driver’s license. 

Lewes Police Chief Thomas Spell said at the time that the department did not think Gard was planning out an active shooting, but as a precaution, Cape Henlopen School District placed Lewes schools in secure status and Beebe Healthcare increased security until Gard was apprehended. Gard was arrested at an Airbnb on Minos Conaway Road. 

Gard, who had an address in Havre de Grace, Md., had a record of traffic citations and a closed case in the Talbot County District Domestic Violence Court, according to court documents, and was barred from owning a firearm without court approval. 

Gard was 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. In Delaware, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony is considered a Class B felony and carries with it a minimum sentence of five years for each count, if convicted. Possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person prohibited is considered a Class F felony and carries a maximum sentence of three years on each count, if convicted.