Fountain Valley man arrested on suspicion of possessing ‘ghost guns,’ ammunition, narcotics

A Fountain Valley man was arrested Friday after police officers responded to calls reporting an individual firing a high-powered pellet rifle near a public area in the 10000 block of El Plano.

The man taken into custody, Joseph Pham, 42, was described in a news release issued Saturday by the Fountain Valley Police Department as being a person of interest in previous calls that involved a high-powered pellet rifle being fired into neighboring residences. He was also identified as a convicted felon.

After a search warrant was issued for Pham’s residence, police found one Glock handgun, an AR-15 assault rifle, several high-powered pellet rifles and handguns, according to officials. In addition, detectives also found ammunition, high capacity magazines, hunting scopes, methamphetamine and related drug paraphernalia.

Neither the Glock handgun nor the AR-15 were serialized, officials said, marking them as “ghost guns.”

Pham was arrested on suspicion of possession of those items in addition to charges for felony vandalism and shooting into an inhabited dwelling. Pham was initially held on a bail of $25,000. According to jail records, he was out on bail as of Sunday. It is unclear when he will be expected to appear in court.

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