TEMPE, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) — Dozens of guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition and a grenade launcher were reportedly recovered from the home of a suspect accused of leaving bags of white powder at multiple locations and recent shootings targeting a Democratic campaign office.
Authorities identified the suspect overnight as 60-year-old Jeffrey Michael Kelly, who faces several charges related to both crimes. During his initial court appearance Wednesday morning, a prosecutor said guns, including a fully automatic weapon, were found in his vehicle at the time of his arrest.
“The state and law enforcement believe that this person was preparing to commit an act of mass casualty with the guns he had, and that his progression of violence was escalating,” Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Neha Bhatia said during the hearing.
She noted that a search warrant was underway at his home, where investigators had already recovered approximately 120 guns, including AR-style rifles and other fully automatic weapons.
Bhatia also said 250,000 rounds of ammunition were found, along with silencers, rifle scopes and body armor. In addition, a grenade launcher and dummy grenades were also recovered.
Kelly faces multiple felony counts of unlawful discharge, shooting at a non-residential structure, terrorism act. He also faces several misdemeanor counts of criminal damage.
According to police, the investigation into Kelly started in Tempe when he shot at the Democratic National Committee field office near Southern Avenue and Priest Drive three times, with the latest shooting on Oct. 6. The other two were on Sept. 16 and Sept. 23.
Police say Kelly fired BB pellets and gunshots at the office from his vehicle. No one was inside the building during any of the incidents, and the Democratic Party eventually closed down the field office.
Surveillance video captured a silver Toyota Highlander in two of the shooting incidents, in one case with an expired Colorado license plate and a California license plate in the other.
In a news conference, authorities said Kelly was linked as a possible suspect after community members came forward to report of a similar instance of politically-motivated crime in 2022, where Kelly purportedly stole Democratic signs with that same SUV.
After Kelly was identified as a possible suspect, police served search warrants on his social media and Google accounts. According to court docs, Kelly used Google Maps to search the address of the DNC campaign office.
From Monday night into Tuesday morning, documents say Kelly was observed posting “anti-Democratic ideology signs“ at various locations near his Ahwatukee home.
The places included Chandler Boulevard near 44th Street and 35th Street, as well as Ray Road and 50th Street.
Phoenix police later said the signs were also lined with razor blades. The signs had messages referring to the Democratic Party and presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Clear plastic bags containing white powder marked ”biohazard” were reportedly attached to the signs, with messages including, “F*** you!,” “play stupid games win stupid prizes!” and “guess the poison!”
There were no reports of any injuries, and officials say the substance was not harmful.
Kelly was taken into custody shortly after 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Documents say a silver 2009 Toyota Highlander was found covered by blankets in the garage. While it had an Arizona plate, investigators reportedly seized other license plates from the garage, including one from Colorado and another from California.
“He is obviously putting threats out there,” Bhatia said in court. “He is wanting to scare the population. He is escalating in his violence, and the state believes that he is an absolute threat to the community, to any political figures, Democrats specifically.”
Kelly’s attorney argued that some of the allegations were inflammatory, saying that his client is a retired aerospace engineer with a top-secret level clearance and no prior criminal record. Regarding the guns, his attorney said Kelly was a sportsman.
“We will not tolerate attempts to intimidate anyone involved in the process,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said. “Those who engage in political violence or try to interfere with elections, or discourage people from participating in the political process, will face serious legal consequences. We will aggressively pursue prosecution to protect our democracy and our democratic process.”
“I appreciate you may be a sportsman, but I am unclear at this point what a grenade launcher has to do with that,” Judge William Cathon said.
While the state asked for a $1 million cash bond, the judge set a $500,000 cash-only bond. If able to post it, Kelly has been ordered to house arrest and to wear an ankle monitor.
Later on Wednesday night, Kelly was back in front of a judge, this time on charges of making false terrorist reports. After a back-and-forth with the attorneys, the judge set an additional $500,000 cash-only bond, which prosecutors wanted.
Kelly has to come up with $1 million cash if he wants to be released from jail before trial.
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