BURLINGTON — A search for an assault suspect turned into a much bigger case Sunday morning when investigators found drugs and an arsenal of guns in a home they say has been a nuisance to neighbors for more than a year.

The Burlington police were looking for a man they thought was staying at a home in the 200 block of Cherry Street. When they arrived late Saturday night, he wasn’t there. But they did see drugs and firearms in plain view and were granted a search warrant, said Will Reichardt, chief of the Skagit County drug task force.

A thorough search of the house and attached garage displaying gang graffiti on its walls revealed 17 firearms — including two sawed-off shotguns and two assault rifles — as well as methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy and possible crack cocaine, according to arrest affidavits filed in Skagit County District Court.

“This is a lot of guns for us,” Reichardt said.

At least two of the guns — including a law-enforcement or military only assault rifle — were stolen, Reichardt said.

Officers from the task force arrested three men at the home, including a 26-year-old admitted gang member, a 25-year-old and a 35-year-old.

Officers found the 26-year-old in the garage with bags of drugs on him, the arrest affidavit says. The 25-year-old, a convicted felon, was sleeping in a bedroom of the home with two AR-15 rifles on the floor beside him, the affidavit says.

Officers found the 35-year-old, a convicted felon, hiding under blankets in the garage. He had multiple warrants out for his arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol, drug charges and violation of a protection order, the affidavit says.

During the search, officers found guns hidden in a safe, stashed in hiding places around the home and inside of a fake wall.

Reichardt said drug busts in Skagit County are increasingly turning up more firearms.

Skagit County is a hub for high volumes of drug trafficking in the Northwest, he said.

“Gangs and drugs go together hand in hand,” Reichardt said.

Firearms are not only used as protection in turf wars, but also as a way for gang members to make money selling them to each other.

“Gang members always seem to want to be armed,” Reichardt said.

Reichardt said the firearms that most concern him are the two sawed-off shotguns because they are modified to make a high-powered firearm concealable.

“It’s strictly to do a robbery or be armed for some illegal purpose,” he said.

The three men are being held in the Skagit County Jail for investigation of firearm and drug violations.

Reichardt said Burlington police officers searched the same home last year and found stolen property there. He said neighbors have complained about the home for months, suspecting the people who lived there dealt drugs.

The drug task force has been investigating complaints about drug activity in the house for several months, Reichardt said.

As for the assault suspect, he still hasn’t been found, Reichardt said.

Tahlia Ganser can be reached at 360-416-2148 or at .