Car search reveals weapons cache in Bethlehem
— Photo from Bethlehem Police Department
These weapons were gathered as evidence by Bethlehem Police.
BETHLEHEM — Weapons, including materials to make bombs, police say, were found in a car that officers inspected before it was to be towed.
The driver, Kyle A. Brush, age 35, of Earlton, was arrested on six felony charges while his passenger, Rachael M. Thompson, age 40, of Albany, was charged with one felony for possessing a pistol, which police described as a “ghost gun.”
A ghost gun is untraceable and unserialized, typically bought online and assembled at home.
A Thursday release from the Bethlehem Police Department described events unfolding this way:
On Monday, Oct. 10, at about 10:11 p.m., a Bethlehem officer was driving on Route 9W when he was notified, through a license plate reader, that a car passing his patrol car had a suspended registration for no insurance.
The car was stopped in the parking lot of the Glenmont Walmart. Brush was issued traffic tickets — for suspended registration, suspended license, and no insurance — and he and Thompson were released.
Then, when officers did an inventory seach before the car was to be towed, they found “numerous illegal knifes, a rifle (ghost gun), a ballistic vest, large capacity pistol magazines, bomb making materials, brass knuckles, throwing stars, a silencer, and an expandable baton, all of which are considered weapons under the New York State Penal Law,” the release said.
Officers found Thompson inside the Walmart and charged her with criminal possession of a firearm, a felony, and fifth-degree conspiracy, a misdemeanor.
Brush was found shortly afterward on South Pearl Street in Albany.
He was charged with these felonies: second-degree criminal possession of a firearm - loaded firearm, third-degree criminal possession of a firearm - bomb/silencer/machine gun, third-degree criminal possession of a firearm - ammunition-feeding device, third-degree criminal possession of an assault weapon, third-degree criminal sale of a firearm - unauthorized person, and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon - previous conviction.
Brush was arraigned in Bethlehem Town Court and remanded to Albany County’s jail in lieu of $150,000 bond / $50,000 cash. Thompson was released on an appearance ticket.
“This is an ongoing investigation and no further details are being released,” said Deputy Chief James L. Rexford in an email.
The Albany County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, and the Albany Police Department helped the Bethlehem Police with the investigation.
— Melissa Hale-Spencer
