A Rancho Bernardo man facing more than a dozen charges appeared in court downtown on Thursday for the first time.
Neal James Anders, 45, was arrested after his 14-year-old son, a student at RB High School, was accused of threatening to shoot up his high school, authorities said. The boy has two siblings in school as well, it was disclosed in court by prosecutors.
Police searching Anders' Avenida Sivrita home this week allegedly found a rocket-propelled grenade and multiple concussion grenades (all of which turned out to be inert, or non-active), as well as 29 assault rifles, ghost guns, ghost-gun parts, Dragon’s Breath ammo capable of firing a 200-yard wall of fire (that round led to a possession of a destructive device count filed against Anders)e, flame throwers, armored vests, gas masks and “countless” manuals on how to make more ghost guns and explosives.
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Thursday's court appearance marked the first time the public was able to see Anders. From the outside, even wearing jail scrubs, he looks like an average suburban father of three. But prosecutors say what they found inside his garage and a storage unit was anything but average.
"It was, simply put, an arsenal, tucked into Rancho Bernardo," Deputy District Attorney Roza Egiazarian said after court. " There were 29 assault rifles, 9 of which we've charged were unserialized, which is a crime."
On Thursday, Anders appeared virtually from the San Diego County Central Jail for his arraignment, entering a not-guilty plea on all charges.
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Police arrested Anders this week after, they said, seizing the stockpile of weapons. Prosecutors also believe he tried to hide two 3D printers.
Anders’ arrest came three days after police arrested his son on Friday. Prosecutors said the boy told his classmates not to show up to school on Tuesday because he planned to bring guns, saying he even knew one of the fire alarms was broken, giving him easy access. The teen is currently in custody as a juvenile.
As for his father, Anders’ lawyer said every firearm was in a hard, locked case and at no time did any of Anders’ children have access to the firearms.
"This is obviously concerning, given the sheer quantity of weapons illegal and legal in the possession of one individual," Egiazarian said.
An alleged school threat
Anders' son, whose name was withheld because he is a minor, was taken into custody on Jan. 26 and booked into juvenile hall after fellow students reported that he had made comments about carrying out a shooting at the Paseo Lucido campus.
"I want to commend the students who acted responsibly by reporting what they heard," read a letter from RBHS Principal Hans Becker that was sent out to students over the weekend. Please use this opportunity to remind your children, if they see something, say something to continue to keep our community safe through our collective vigilance."
SDPD public-affairs Lt. Daniel Meyer said earlier this week that the boy's parents were contacted on Tuesday morning regarding the incident.
"A gun-violence restraining order was issued and served to the juvenile," Meyer said. "A search warrant was obtained and served at the juvenile's residence to secure any firearms [he might have had] access to."
Officers say the wife and other children were home at the time the home was searched, but they were allowed to leave during the arrest.
Anders faces 11 counts of possession of an assault weapon, and one count each of possession of a short-barreled rifle/short barreled shotgun and possession of a destructive device.
If convicted of all 13 charges, Anders is looking at a maximum sentence of three years and four months. Judge John Pro set bail at $300,000. Anders is due back in court on Tuesday for a bail review hearing.
