Police Charge Gaithersburg Teen as Adult After 45 Firearms, Drugs Found at Residence

A Gaithersburg 16-year-old is being charged as an adult after police seized 45 firearms and a “large amount” of marijuana from his home—an investigation sparked after photos of guns and drugs surfaced on social media, according to Montgomery County police.

Police said the teen, Ethan K. Gettier, of the 12300 block of Triple Crown Court, was the youngest of six people charged with drug- and firearm-related offenses. Gettier was arrested Friday, Oct. 11, after police searched his home. 

Montgomery County police said detectives from the firearms investigation unit and a resource officer assigned to Quince Orchard High School launched an investigation after photos surfaced on the Internet.

Photos posted at Gettier’s Instagram account allegedly show the teen with guns—including an M16 riffle—and Tupperware and Mason jar containers filled with suspected marijuana, according to a statement of charges filed in Montgomery County District Court.

Gettier was charged with possession of a firearm by a minor; marijuana possession; drug paraphernalia possession; possession with intent to distribute CDS; and possession of a firearm in a drug trafficking crime.

He was released after posting $5,000 bond, court records show. 

A court hearing has been set for Oct. 25.

Two Germantown youths were charged with dealing drugs in connection with the investigation—Anand M. Javeri, 18, and Khaliq R. Thomas, 18, who have addresses in the 18400 block of Cottage Garden Drive, where police said a search turned up "large amounts of marijuana."

Javeri and Thomas were released on bond, according to police.

Gettier’s father Darel J. Gettier, 63, was charged with allowing a minor access to a handgun, keeping a disorderly house and maintaining a common nuisance to administer controlled dangerous substance. 

Police said criminal citations were issued for two others—Devon Rubenstein, 18, of Germantown, and Connor Fellows, 20, of Gaithersburg.