Along with marijuana plants, Manheim Township police discovered a cache of weapons when they searched the home of an East Petersburg man last week.

Police said Terrence Rainar, 59, had 15 firearms inside his home at 6335 Hollow Drive when they were called to that address after someone reported shots had been fired.

The weapons included an AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles, a sawed-off shotgun and four pistols, police said. Some were loaded.

Police also found 23 marijuana plants, 290 grams of loose marijuana, amphetamines and drug paraphernalia, according to court documents.

Rainar, who was charged with three felonies and three misdemeanors, is free on bail and has made attempts to move back into his home, according to police.

East Petersburg Mayor Gary Spangenburg said Thursday that he was disturbed by the report of the weapons cache at the house.

"(Assault weapons) are not uncommon for society, but not typical for East Petersburg," the mayor said.

Police and Spangenburg said they do not know why Rainar had so many weapons. Police are still investigating the report of shots being fired.

"I need to praise the police department for very quickly taking care of the situation before it escalated," Spangenburg said. "He could have been very destructive, and they prevented all that from happening."

Rainar is charged with two felony drug offenses and a felony gun crime, along with the misdemeanors. A convicted felon, Rainar is not allowed to possess firearms, a police affidavit shows.

He is free on $50,000 bail, officials said.

Rainar came to East Petersburg soon after being convicted of a felony in Florida in 1996, according to officials.

His East Petersburg home is currently posted "no trespassing" because of sub-par living conditions inside, the mayor said.

Family members are repairing the structure so Rainar can move back in, Spangenburg said. Police charged Rainar on Tuesday with summary trespass after he was caught living inside the home.

There is little officials can do to stop Rainar from moving back in after the home is deemed livable, Spangenburg said.

This week, Gov. Ed Rendell made a plea to Congress to ban assault rifles such as the ones allegedly found at Rainar's home.

The plea was made during a news conference in Harrisburg in response to the killings of three Pittsburgh police officers on April 4. The officers, responding to a domestic call, were allegedly ambushed by a man armed with assault weapons and wearing a bulletproof vest.

E-mail: bhambright@lnpnews.com