Feds: Indicted Pierce County man had machine guns, body armor and a voice modulator
A Pierce County man with a prior federal conviction has been indicted for unlawfully possessing firearms, including two machine guns.
Brady Lee Eltz, 39, appeared in U.S. District Court in Tacoma last week on the criminal complaint and was detained, according to a U.S. Department of Justice media release.
Employees of a Fife auto-glass repair shop reported to police on Oct. 4 that they saw firearms in the trunk of Eltz’s car after he brought it in for repair. Workers also reported seeing bullet holes in the car, the release said.
When Fife police officers arrived, Eltz allegedly had gone into the bathroom. After he was taken into custody, officers checked the bathroom and found two firearms in the cabinet below the sink. They discovered two 9 mm handguns. One was a Glock that had an illegal switch called an “auto-sear.” The switch allows the gun to be fired automatically, reportedly making it a machine gun. The Glock was allegedly stolen, the release said.
Police allegedly found three additional firearms in Eltz’s truck, including a stolen rifle that had been modified to fire automatically, making it a machine gun.
Police discovered a bag with two improvised explosive devices. Pierce County Sheriff’s Department bomb technicians were called in to evaluate the devices and make them safe. One device was allegedly an explosive simulator likely stolen from the U.S. Army. The device can cause serious bodily injury if detonated in a confined space, the release said.
The second explosive was a thick cardboard tube filled with a black powder. After the explosives were made safe, police continued their search of the trunk and found two additional rifles, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, latex face masks, body armor, gun sites, holsters and other firearms accessories. Eltz allegedly had GPS trackers, several knives and a voice-changing device, the release said.
Due to prior criminal convictions, including a 2013 conviction for illegal gun possession where he served five years in prison, Eltz is prohibited from possessing firearms. Illegal possession of a firearm is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Possession of a machine gun is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, the release said.
A previous News Tribune story reported that Eltz was charged in Pierce County Superior Court on Oct. 5 for six counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a machine gun and possessing an explosive device. His bail was set at $150,000.
The Washington State Patrol assisted with locating and arresting Eltz on a federal warrant after he posted bail and left state custody, the release said.
