The husband of a Texas realtor missing for two weeks now faces new charges, and his business partner has been arrested in connection with the investigation.
Brad Simpson, already jailed on charges of assault causing bodily injury-family violence and unlawful restraint, was charged Tuesday with tampering or fabricating with physical evidence and possession of a prohibited weapon, KSAT reported.
Additionally, 65-year-old James Valle Cotter, a long time friend and business partner of Simpson, was arrested on the same charges.
Simpson’s wife, Suzanne Clark Simpson, has been missing since October 6, when a neighbor saw her and her husband arguing outside their Olmos Park home, as CrimeOnline reported. The neighbor reported hearing screams between 10 and 11 p.m. that night and later saw Brad Simpson, 53, drive away from the home and return about an hour later.
The new charges against Simpson and Cotter’s arrest are connected with a fully automatic AK-47 rifle found during a search this week at Cotter’s home, KSAT said. The weapon was found behind a television mounted in his bedroom, the affidavit said, and a video of a walk-in safe at Simpson’s home, taken earlier, appears to show the same gun.
The affidavit says that Cotter gave Texas Rangers permission to look at his cell phone communications with Simpson, and they found a message on October 8 from Simpson asking Cotter to “haul a** and meet meet at your house.”
“I don’t have much time,” Simpson said, adding later, “OK, make sure to leave all that s*** in the pump house, especially that gun.”
Later, he apologized “for the urgency,” telling Cotter “you’re all I got especially now … social media is destroying me.”
Nearly two weeks later, an informant, who had previously provided accurate information about the investigation, told the Olmos Park Police Department that Simpson had asked Cotter to go to his house and secure a “rifle.” The informant described the rifle as a fully automatic AK-47 and said it was hidden behind a wall in Cotter’s bedroom.
Police obtained a search warrant on Monday and found the rifle, a Chinese-made AK-47 with a switch to toggle between full and semi-automatic.
An automatic weapon is classified as a “machine gun” and is illegal to own unless it is registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The AK was not registered, the affidavit said, and both Cotter and Simpson were aware it was unregistered and illegal.
Earlier this month, investigators found an unregistered short-barreled rifle, also illegal to own, during a search at Simpson’s home. Federal agents have placed a hold on him while they continue their investigation of that weapon.
Simpson is being held on a $3 million bond. A bond heading had been scheduled for October 15, but it was canceled because of the federal detainer. Cotter is being held on a $1 million bond.
