News footage of David James Neff in court on Aug. 4 (KOMO).
A Washington state man who was being investigated after his son got hold of one of his unsecured guns was allegedly keeping a lot more than just firearms in the family home.
David James Neff, 44, was arrested on July 15 after his wife was accidentally shot in the arm by their 4-year-old son. Neff was reportedly sleeping while the gun was holstered at his waist when the little boy grabbed it and pulled the trigger, according to court documents obtained by local ABC affiliate KOMO.
But after Neff was arrested, prosecutors in Washington”s Snohomish County said that an investigation at the home yielded a massive arsenal of weapons, including a total of 73 firearms, more than 10 homemade explosive devices, and what appeared to be a plan to carry out a mass shooting in his community.
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According to KOMO’s reporting on the court documents, prosecutors said that the discovery of the additional weapons merited a higher bail amount for Neff, stating, “Increased bail is appropriate where the additional information supports that the danger for future violence was not fully appreciated at the time that bail was initially set.”
In court on Monday, a judge doubled Neff’s bail to $1 million.
The Lynwood Times, a local news outlet, reported that when the July 15 shooting took place, Neff was still asleep when deputies responded to the scene. They found Neff’s wife, 41-year-old Sandi Weaver, bleeding from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to her arm, and she was transported to a nearby hospital. The 4-year-old also reportedly had a slight injury under his eye, presumably from the gun’s recoil, and was treated at the scene along with his 9-year-old sibling. Both children were later placed in the care of other relatives.
Police said that Neff was “pale, sweating, and eerily calm” while he was being questioned, which led them to suspect he was using drugs. They eventually found what they suspected to be drugs and a meth pipe on him; the search of the family home also yielded drug paraphernalia.
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Neff reportedly told police that he had 13 firearms registered in his name in the home, locked in a safe. During the execution of the search warrant, police found 60 additional, unregistered, unsecured firearms including short-barrel rifles, “AR-style rifles,” and pistols. They also found a bump stock.
Police said that the 10 homemade bombs — described as tubes filled with gunpowder, wiring, nails, and other materials for shrapnel made with the “intent of killing and injuring others” — were removed safely by the Washington State Patrol bomb squad. Inside the home were several containers of gunpowder and materials for building ammunition.
Image of a purported bomb found on the property of David James Neff (Court records via KOMO).
According to prosecutors, Neff, who was employed at an armory, was not licensed to possess, manufacture, or store explosives by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries.
The Lynwood Times reported that Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Kristina Beske-Keplinger said, “The magnitude of the threat that [Neff] poses to this community was not fully understood until the search concluded.” She added, “An individual who works at an armory would be expected to appreciate the need for firearm safety. Instead, he added bombs to unsafe situation.”
KOMO reported that Neff had worked at West Coast Armory, a local gun shop and gun range.
Neff pleaded not guilty to 14 felonies, including unsafe storage of firearm in the first degree, unlicensed possession of explosives, two counts of possession of an unlawful firearm, two counts of reckless endangerment, and eight counts of possession of an explosive device. He remains in Snohomish County Jail on $1 million bond and is scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 26.
