As the search for missing Olmos Park woman Suzanne Clark Simpson continues, her husband, Brad Simpson, faces new legal troubles with two additional charges surfacing this week. Specifically, Simpson has been charged with tampering with physical evidence and possessing illegal weapons, according to KSAT and confirmed by jail records.
The investigation into Suzanne Clark Simpson's disappearance led Texas Rangers to secure consent from James Vallee Cotter, Simpson's longstanding business partner and friend, to search through communications on his cellphone, where the authorities discovered messages that, according to an arrest affidavit, included Simpson requesting Cotter to stash away "all that s*** in the pump house, especially that gun," while another message on Oct. 8 urgently called for Cotter to meet Simpson; this new information adds another layer to the already complex case, with the Olmos Park Police Department informed by a reliable source about Simpson directing Cotter to hide an AK-47 rifle, illegally modified to switch between full and semi-automatic fire, behind a wall in Cotter's bedroom, a claim later substantiated when Olmos Park police uncovered the weapon during a warranted search, thereby implicating Simpson in prohibited arms dealings, as per KSAT.
The discovery of the AK-47, manufactured in China and hidden behind the television in Cotter’s bedroom, corresponds with a video of a walk-in gun safe from Brad Simpson’s home, suggesting that what appeared to be the same weapon thus affirming the collaboration between Simpson and Cotter in the possession of an illegal machine gun, a third-degree felony, as stated in the affidavit; further scrutiny by investigators led to the finding of a short-barreled rifle in Simpson's residence, which reportedly was not registered to him, entangling him in additional allegations of federal firearm violations, with records obtained by Your London Calling.
Currently held in the Bexar County Jail, Brad Simpson faces escalating legal issues with total bonds reaching $3 million after his arrest in Kendall County on charges of family violence and unlawful restraint. His initial bond hearing, scheduled for last Tuesday, was postponed due to a federal detainer from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He is also a person of interest in the disappearance of his wife, last seen alive on October 6.
