18 guns found scattered throughout Melvindale home of man who shot at wife

Wife of Saliah Algahmi claims he fired shot at her in alley

Guns found during a June 8, 2023, search at a home in Melvindale. (United States District Court)

MELVINDALE, Mich. – Officials found 18 guns scattered throughout the Melvindale home of a man who fired a shot at his wife, according to authorities.

Saliah Algahmi, 36 or 37, of Melvindale, is named in a June 16 criminal complaint that accuses him of several charges. The document was unsealed June 21.

Court records say medical officials determined Algahmi had bipolar disorder in October 2012, and he was banned from owning guns or ammunition.

Wife reports shooting

Police were called at 2:41 a.m. May 19 to a shooting in the alley at Sharon and Mandale streets in Southwest Detroit, not far from the border of Melvindale.

Officers spoke to a woman who told them that Algahmi had fired a shot at her before fleeing the scene. She was later identified as Algahmi’s wife.

Police found a spent 9 mm shell casing in the area.

Guns found at Melvindale home

On June 8, Detroit police went to Algahmi’s home in the 19500 block of Hanna Street in Melvindale with a search warrant.

He wasn’t home during the search, according to the criminal complaint. His son said he had left the previous evening.

Officials said they found 18 guns, a fake Drug Enforcement Agency badge, a fake Department of Defense badge, and several other items.

An AFT agent said the fake badges were realistic enough to trick ordinary people. Police believe Algahmi ordered them from China and received them on Nov. 13, 2022.

Here’s a list of the guns that were found in the home, according to the complaint:

  • A DPMS Panther Arms A-15 on the bed of the upstairs bedroom.
  • Four Smith and Wesson M&P 15s in the second-floor bedroom.
  • A Taurus G2C in the basement bedroom.
  • A Romarm/Cugir Mini Draco next to the living room couch.
  • A Glock 26 in a brown holster on the living room TV stand.
  • A Beretta 92fs inside an open safe in the living room.
  • A Masterpiece Arms Defender with an obliterated serial number in the upstairs bedroom.
  • A Sarsilmaz B6C in the upstairs bedroom.
  • A black AR-style pistol with no apparent serial number in the upstairs bedroom.
  • A Hi-point 995 in the upstairs bedroom.
  • A Mossberg 500A in the upstairs bedroom.
  • A Taurus 850 in a duffel bag in the main first-floor hallway.
  • A Ruger Security-Six in a duffel bag in the main first-floor hallway.
  • A Glock 23 in a duffel bag in the main first-floor hallway.
  • A Battle Arms Workhorse in a duffel bag in the main first-floor hallway.

Here are some of the other items seized by police:

  • A white and gray Easton bag full of live ammo and gun accessories in the second-floor bedroom.
  • A fake DEA badge in the kitchen cabinet above the stove.
  • A fake DOD badge in a duffel bag in the main first-floor hallway. It was gold and had the number “212″ on it, officials said.
  • Twelve 50-cent coins in the pocket of the Easton bag.
  • A $1 coin in the pocket of the Easton bag.
  • An open plastic bag of suspected marijuana in the side pocket of the duffel bag.

More gun details

Court records show four of the guns had been stolen: A Smith & Wesson M&P 15, the Romarm/Cugir Mini Draco, the Glock 23, and the Taurus G2C.

The stolen Glock was equipped with a switch, a device that makes the gun fully automatic, officials said.

The Masterpiece Arms Defender with the obliterated serial number was also fully automatic, according to authorities.

Neither of the fully automatic guns were registered.

A ballistic test of the Glock 26 pistol and the shell casing found at the May 19 shooting scene suggests that might have been the gun used to fire a shot at Algahim’s wife, the criminal complaint says.

The Sarsilmaz G6C was registered to Algahim’s wife, but none of the other 17 guns were legally registered to Algahim, officials said.

Charges

The criminal complaint concludes there’s probable cause that Algahim committed the following crimes:

  • Adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution.
  • Transfer or possession of a machine gun.
  • Possession of a stolen firearm or ammunition.
  • Firearm with an obliterated, removed, or altered manufacturer’s serial number.
  • Possession of a gun that’s unregistered in the NFRTR.
  • Knowingly receiving a counterfeit official insignia badge.

About the Author

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.

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