Sheriff's deputies find guns, drugs at East Setauket man's home

An East Setauket man is facing weapons and drug possession charges after he was arrested Wednesday by Suffolk County deputy sheriffs who were serving an extreme risk protection order, authorities said.

The court order, issued when an individual may be a danger to themselves or others, prohibits the ownership of any kind of firearm.

Members of the sheriff’s office's Domestic Violence Bureau served the order at 10:23 a.m. on May 4 at the home of Robert Ludwig, 26, and discovered multiple illegal weapons and drug paraphernalia, officials said. 

A subsequent search warrant was obtained by the sheriff office's Criminal Investigations Bureau, officials said.

Authorities seized three 9 mm "ghost guns" that are typically assembled from parts that can be purchased online, along with 41 high-capacity magazines, more than 4,000 rounds of ammunition and a firearm silencer, the sheriff's office said.

Deputies also found fentanyl, amphetamines, LSD, psychedelic mushrooms, marijuana, Xanax, Suboxone, which is used to treat narcotics dependency, two scales and more than $50,000 in cash, officials said.

Ludwig is charged with three counts each of criminal possession of a firearm, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and third-degree possession of a controlled substance; two counts each of seventh-degree possession of a controlled substance and second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia, and one count each of second-degree possession of a controlled substance, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree criminal contempt. Additional charges were pending.

Ludwig was arraigned Thursday and held on $150,000 cash bail or $500,000 bond. The court also granted the district attorney's request for a bail source hearing in the event Ludwig attempts to post bail.

Eric Bernstein, Ludwig's Manhattan-based defense attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ludwig is due back in court Tuesday.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.