WESTFIELD — A Connecticut man who has a residence in Tolland was arraigned in district court after police claimed he was illegally in possession of an assault rifle, despite it not being found after a search of his Tolland residence, according to court records.
Joshua L. Wolz, 43, of Foote Path Lane, Connecticut, was released on personal recognizance after being arraigned in connection with one count of illegal possession of an assault weapon and three counts of possession of ammunition without an FID card, according to court records.
On Dec. 5, officers with the Tolland and Granville Police departments executed a search warrant at Wolz’s residence at Owl’s Nest Lane in the Wildwoods, Tolland, according to two statements of facts reports submitted by Granville Department Detective John Stone and Tolland Police Chief Scott Bergeron.
According to the reports, the “primary focus of the search was for firearms, ammunition and large capacity feeding devices believed to be owned Joshua Wolz.”
Before they arrived at the Owl’s Nest Lane residence, Wolz was called and told about the search. He told them to go ahead, which they did.
Police said once inside the residence, after having to force the door open, they went to Wolz’s bedroom on the second floor, which is where it was alleged he was keeping firearms.
Numerous boxes of ammunition were found in several plastic grocery bags, including 9 mm ammo, .223 ammo, 5.56 mm ammo, a shotgun shell, and a loaded magazine for an AR-15-style rifle, and other weapons-related equipment, like a holster, gun cleaning solvents, and a cable gun lock, according to the reports.
Also inside the bags was a receipt from December 2022 for a Glock 22, which is a 40-caliber semiautomatic handgun that appeared to have been swapped the next week for a Taurus GX4XL — which is a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. The price of the Glock was $516, and written on the receipt was “same price” for the Taurus, and an owner’s manual for it, according to the reports.
Officers also found a receipt from a Maine sporting goods business for $799 for a Smith & Wesson M+P Sport II, which is a .226- or 5.56-caliber AR-15-style assault rifle, according to the reports.
The officers also noted in the reports that it appeared that Wolz’s bedroom was regularly used by him with clothes on racks and in drawers.
Despite the thorough search of the residence, “no firearms were located during the search,” which prompted Bergeron to issue a be-on-the-lookout for the two firearms and Wolz’s vehicle.
The reports didn’t indicate if the weapons had been located.
Wolz was not arrested but was summoned to court to be arraigned in connection with the four charges.
The court records show that Wolz was released with conditions. Those documents were not in the filings in the case.
Wolz will return to district court on March 2 for a pretrial hearing.
