Middletown 'sovereign citizen' gets prison for guns inside Langhorne-Yardley Road home
A "sovereign citizen" who rejects government authority and drew the attention of Middletown police, neighbors and motorists passing his Langhorne house was sentenced from 28 to 56 years in state prison Wednesday for illegally possessing a cache of high-powered firearms.
At his trial in Doylestown, Bucks County, authorities testified about discovering the high-powered firearms that included scoped and AR-style sniper rifles, along with boxes of ammo, some of it NATO-grade used in war zones.
The jury took about an hour to find Curtis Gregory Smith Jr., 43, guilty on all eight counts, including illegal gun possession, and for falsely telling police his 2-year-old son was home alone after he was arrested last July on unrelated charges of zoning and code violations at his residence at 596 Langhorne-Yardley Road.
A check showed no child in the house. But while searching, police found seven firearms, including a Stier Arms sniper rifle with telescope on a bipod aimed out windows that overlooked Langhorne-Yardley Road, his yard and the neighboring Valley View development. They also found body armor and boxes of ammunition.
As a sovereign, Smith, does not believe he is bound by local, state or federal law, or that government has authority over his property. Middletown police Lt. Steve Foreman, who has studied the sovereign citizen movement, testified that Smith affixed phony license plates to his vehicles that read, "OFFICIAL DIPLOMAT" of the fictitious Shaykamaxum Republic.
“They don’t believe in the legitimacy of the government, that is has jurisdiction over them,” he said during a break in the proceedings, which began Monday.
Smith caught the attention of Middletown authorities not long after purchasing his home in August 2022. Over the next 18 months, without permits, he installed a fence, built a shed, expanded a rear bedroom, installed a driveway and built a large, free-standing cinder block garage in his front yard along heavily traveled Langhorne-Yardley Road, which fronts the 1.7-acre property.
Middletown razed the structures two weeks ago for the outstanding permit and zoning violations while Smith was off the property.
No more Middletown razes illegal garage of 'sovereign citizen' who says he's not 'bound by any law'
In 2022 and 2023 he racked up tens of thousands of dollars in township and court fines. When he was arrested July 11, 2023 for defying court orders to remove the structures, he told three law enforcement officers, including Middletown Chief Joseph Bartorilla, that his 2-year-old son was still in the house, unattended.
Police entered the house and discovered the weapons, ammo and an armor-plated tactical vest designed to withstand high-impact rounds, a grade or two higher than what local police patrol officers wear.
Asked by Judge Charissa Liller why he had the guns, Smith said he was a “collector.” She didn’t buy his story.
Smith insisted on acting as his own lawyer at his trial, though Liller appointed him a standby lawyer, Tim Barton, who Smith consulted with as he cross-examined witnesses.
When the guilty verdict came back late Wednesday afternoon, Smith waived his right to a public defender and insisted he be sentenced immediately. Liller accommodated his request, giving him enough prison time to keep him incarcerated until he’s in his seventies, or more.
The fate of his Middletown property was not discussed at sentencing, although testimony showed he had moved it into a trust bearing his initials.
JD Mullane can be reached at 215-949-5745 or at jmullane@couriertimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Middletown 'sovereign citizen' gets prison for guns, ammo cache
