After Man Accused of Making Threats, Search Turns Up Ghost Guns at Home

A man remained in custody Thursday on firearms related-charges after allegedly making threats in an incorporated community in Vista. 

Christopher Loftis, 45, was booked into the Vista Detention Facility on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, possessing an assault weapon and owning or possessing a gun without a serial number. 

The investigation started at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies with the Vista Sheriff’s Station responded to 911 calls about a man chasing people with a gun in the 2000 block of Primrose Avenue. 

The man left the scene in a pickup truck, witnesses told the authorities, but returned riding an off-road motorcycle. They said he confronted four people and threatened them with the gun before riding away from the area. 

The four victims provided a description of the suspect and his direction of travel.

Deputies searched the surrounding neighborhood and located the suspect’s house, where they served a search warrant. They found a stash of weapons including rifles, shotguns and handguns, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition and tactical vests, according to the department.

Two of the firearms seized were privately manufactured weapons, commonly referred to as ghost guns, sheriff’s officials said. Unlike legal, commercially manufactured firearms, ghost guns are not marked with serial numbers.

Witnesses confirmed to deputies that no shots were fired at any time and no one was hurt, despite claims in social media posts.