A couple accused of illegally manufacturing and modifying rifles to sell out of their Moreno Valley home both pleaded not guilty Friday to 70 felony charges.
Bearl Andrew Leach, 33, and Sarah Anne Leach, 27, were indicted by a grand jury in May based on an investigation by the Inland Empire Joint Terrorism Task Force, comprised of Riverside County sheriff’s deputies, FBI agents and law enforcement personnel from multiple municipal police departments in the region.
Each defendant is charged with nearly six dozen counts, including possession of an assault rifle, manufacturing an assault weapon, possession of a sawed-off shotgun and manufacturing or selling high-capacity magazines for use in unlawful weapons.
They were arraigned before Superior Court Judge Jack Lucky, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Aug. 30 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Bearl Leach is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta. His wife is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, the couple came under investigation earlier this year after the sheriff’s department received tips alleging they had been making threats, the nature of which weren’t specified.
The case was assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, whose investigators developed leads indicating there was alleged illegal gun-making activity in the defendants’ residence near downtown Moreno Valley, prosecutors said.
Search warrants were obtained, and during a raid on the property, multiple illegal assault weapons were allegedly found.
“Evidence discovered during the search of the residence led investigators to believe the husband and wife were operating as illegal firearms dealers and were manufacturing and selling assault weapons out of their home,” according to a statement released by the D.A.’s office. “Each of the assault weapons seized appeared to be custom-designed for the buyer and were unregistered.”
Neither defendant has documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.