RUMFORD — A Rumford man, already jailed on drug and child endangerment charges, was charged Wednesday with allegations that he possessed an AR-style rifle, a silencer and other weaponry at a location in Roxbury.
Alexander Taylor Kubesh, 33, is a convicted felon who is prohibited from keeping weapons, according to Rumford police.
On Wednesday, police from Rumford, Norway, the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Border Patrol executed a search warrant at a home at 419 Roxbury Notch Road, acting on a tip that Kubesh had been stashing weapons there.
Police said that during the search they recovered an AR-10 rifle, a .50-caliber muzzle loader, a silencer and assorted ammunition. As a result, police said, Kubesh was charged at the Oxford County Jail with an additional three counts of being a felon in possession of firearms.
Kubesh has been at the jail since April 3, when police searched Kubesh’s Pine Street home in Rumford and charged him with felony possession of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and crack cocaine along with two charges of endangering the welfare of a child.
“Although no firearms were discovered during the April search,” Rumford police wrote in a press release Thursday, “officers received credible information suggesting Kubesh was concealing firearms at a secondary location in Roxbury. This prompted continued investigation and the eventual execution of Wednesday’s search warrant.”
Both searches, police said, were part of an ongoing criminal investigation into Kubesh and his alleged illegal possession of firearms and involvement in illicit drug trafficking.
When police searched Kubesh’s Pine Street home, investigators said they found living conditions that were “severely unsanitary and unsafe,” raising concern for two children, ages 4 and 5, and two young dogs also living there.
After that search, police contacted the Department of Health and Human Services Child Protective Services and the children were taken into emergency custody. Rumford’s animal control officer took custody of the dogs, police said.
Police on Thursday described Kubesh as a “multi-state offender” with a prior criminal history that includes convictions for felony drug trafficking, disorderly conduct and related charges.
It is expected that Kubesh will be arraigned on the new charges of felon in possession of firearms on Friday.
Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine if convicted.
