A routine welfare check last week turned up a stockpile of high-powered weapons, including a pair of AK-47s, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition inside a Richfield home, according to court filings.
Two men — one of whom was 56 at the time of his arrest and the other 55 — were taken into custody after police also found a marijuana-growing operation in the home, according to a search warrant affidavit made public Monday. Neither man has been charged, which is why the Star Tribune is not naming them.
Police discovered the small arsenal on June 13 while executing a search warrant at the house in the 7500 block of Chicago Avenue, the affidavit said. Inside, it said, they found more than 30 weapons, including the two Russian-made AK-47s, a .22-caliber Uzi-type weapon, six shotguns, and various semiautomatic handguns and rifles. The search also turned up more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition and at least 13 marijuana plants of varying sizes, authorities said.
Police were directed to the address by a 59-year-old man who, according to the affidavit, said he didn't feel safe at home after a disagreement with his brother, without offering further explanation.
When a detective went to the address to do a welfare check, he noticed the smell of marijuana and confronted the two men who answered the door, according to police. They led him to a bedroom, where he saw a TEC-9 semi-automatic pistol and several marijuana plants lying in plain sight, police said.
The detective then summoned other officers to "freeze" the scene, police said, until he could obtain a warrant to search the rest of the house.
Libor Jany • 612-673-4064 Twitter:@StribJany
