Drug Raiders Find Arsenal in Residence : Simi Valley: Authorities seize 125 firearms, 100 bladed weapons and $750,000 worth of cocaine. Three are arrested.

An arsenal of knives, grenades and machine guns was described by law enforcement authorities Monday as the largest collection of weaponry ever seized during a drug raid in Ventura County.

Police said they found 125 firearms and 100 bladed weapons--along with $750,000 worth of cocaine--in an upstairs bedroom when they stormed a Simi Valley house on Sunday and arrested Gardner Ernest Flockhart, 31, a suspected high-level cocaine dealer.

“This is incredible,” said Sgt. Steve Bowman, supervisor of the Ventura Police Department’s narcotics division. “I haven’t found any policeman who’s seen this many guns in one place at one time.”

Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury said it was the most extensive collection found during a drug raid in the county.

The seizure culminated a six-month investigation by local law-enforcement agencies into a ring suspected of distributing cocaine to residents of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

An investigation of Robert Dale Lloyd, 27, an alleged drug courier from Ventura, led to Flockhart, who is believed to be his supplier, Bowman said.

On Sunday, Lloyd allegedly delivered one kilogram of cocaine to an undercover officer in a parking lot in Simi Valley and was immediately arrested on suspicion of sale of a controlled substance and possession for sale of a controlled substance.

Police then served search warrants on Lloyd’s Ventura auto-repair business and his house on El Medio Street, where they found half an ounce of cocaine packaged for sale and arrested his wife Sharon Lloyd, 32, on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sale.

Police also raided Flockhart’s house, where they found $50,000 worth of guns, 12 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $750,000 and more than $500,000 in cash--including Krugerrands, silver ingots and antique coins, authorities said.

“One room was a veritable arsenal and supermarket for cocaine dealing,” Bowman said.

When officers entered the residence, they found Flockhart in the upstairs arsenal standing next to a hand grenade, Bowman said. Flockhart was arrested without incident on suspicion of sale of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale and federal firearms violations.

Flockhart’s girlfriend, Christine Lynn Helenick, 28, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sale. Brian Howard Mudge, 27, who also lived in the house, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sale.

Robert Lloyd was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail in the Ventura County Jail, a jail spokesman said. Sharon Lloyd, Helenick and Mudge have been released on bail, police said. Flockhart remains in custody without bail.

Flockhart, who describes himself as an unemployed actor, was convicted of possession of narcotics for sale in Los Angeles County in 1986.

As a convicted felon, it is illegal for Flockhart to possess any firearms, Bowman said. If convicted in federal court, Flockhart could receive a 40-year prison sentence, Bowman said.

Police believe that Flockhart, a gun enthusiast, traded drugs for the weapons. Bowman said it appears Flockhart used the guns primarily for target shooting.

Among the 125 firearms were 12 illegal weapons. They included four semiautomatic Uzi-type weapons, which had been converted to fully automatic machine guns. Some guns had been outfitted with silencers, and five rifles were fitted with illegally short barrels, Bowman said.

Flockhart also had Teflon-coated and armor-piercing bullets, which can penetrate the bulletproof vests used by police officers.

Collectors’ items such as two $5,000 miniature replicas of machine guns also were found. The rest of the guns included pistols, semiautomatic assault rifles, shotguns and hunting rifles, Bowman said.

Twenty-three of the 100 bladed weapons also were illegal, Bowman said. They included six Shurikens, four-bladed weapons that are thrown like a Frisbee and designed to stick in the target. Five brass knuckles and 12 gravity knives, in which blades can be exposed with a flick of the wrist, also were found.

One of Flockhart’s neighbors, who asked not to be identified, said others suspected drug activity at the house but had no idea of the number of weapons there.

“It was a big surprise, everything they found,” the woman said. “None of us thought all that was over there.”

She said Flockhart, who had lived there about four years, enjoyed jogging and was an avid sportsman, going deer hunting and bringing home venison.

All the guns seized in the raid Sunday will be forfeited to the state through asset-forfeiture laws if Flockhart is convicted, Bowman said. The knives will be ground up, he said.

The departments involved in the investigation stand to gain $700,000 to $1 million through state asset-forfeiture laws from the house, guns, six vehicles and other belongings.

About 30 officers from five agencies were involved in the investigation--the Ventura Police Department, Oxnard Police Department, Simi Valley Police Department, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department and the district attorney’s office. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was called in to examine the firearms.

Bowman said he is sure that there are others above Flockhart, but added that there is nothing to indicate that Colombian drug cartels are involved. He said he does not expect more arrests.

Also, authorities say there is no evidence that this case is linked to the August, 1989, bust in which a Simi Valley police investigation led to the seizure of more than a ton of cocaine in Newhall and Chatsworth. Ten M-60 machine guns were seized during a raid that followed the breakup of a Colombian drug ring operating in the area.