Photo: Matthew Simmons
April 15, 2020 – Ventura County – Perhaps it’s the recent and relentless news about the national economy’s downturn, or perhaps it’s simply a classic case of canned-food-and-ammunition paranoia that drove 46-year-old Frazier Park resident Matthew Simmons to assemble enough firepower in his home to fully arm a tactical Marine Corps battle patrol.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Deputy Sam Moss, Simmons was known to have some attraction to guns based upon his “three prior felony convictions” and was thereby prohibited from owning or possessing any guns or ammo. With that reputation giving him a distinct profile on law enforcement radar, on April 13th deputies working out of the Lockwood Valley VCSD substation served a search warrant on the Simmons residence.
Simmons’ arsenal
The search—conducted with the help of personnel attached to the Sheriff’s Narcotics and Gang Units as well as California State Parks cops—began when deputies made contact with Simmons as he was attempting to drive away from his house. A quick search of Simmons’ vehicle revealed him to be in possession of a loaded .45 semi-auto pistol.
Once inside the house, deputies found “14 additional firearms” including assault rifles, a sawed-off shotgun, a .50-caliber rifle, and “thousands of rounds of ammunition” for those weapons.
Apparently having been prevented from perpetrating a one-man war, Simmons was transported to Ventura County Jail, where he was booked on multiple firearms violations and violation of the terms of his parole. Of possible interest to society at large is the fact that the following day, Simmons posted bail and has been “released from custody.”
Photos: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking, VCSD Gang Unit
