A convicted felon awaiting trial in an arson case was arrested after investigators seized 20 firearms and about a pound of methamphetamine from his Bristol Township home.
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Charles Vandenberg, 51, of the Croydon section of Bristol Township, was taken into custody Wednesday, Nov. 4, after a months-long investigation by the Bensalem Township Police Department Special Investigations Unit.
Credit: Bensalem police
Vandenberg is charged with felony counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and persons not to possess firearms, and additional drug-related offenses. District Judge Lisa Gaier denied bail during his arraignment, and he was remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility.
The investigation was launched in July after officers gathered leads as part of a narcotics arrest near Lincoln Highway and Street Road, police said.
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Police said they confirmed Vandenberg was trafficking large quantities of meth and learned that weapons were being kept inside his Maryland Avenue home in Croydon.
Due to a prior felony conviction, Vandenberg is legally barred from owning firearms, police said.
Bensalem Township officers, assisted by the Bristol Township Police Department and the Bucks County South Emergency Response Team, served a search warrant at the Croydon residence last Wednesday.
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Vandenberg and several others on the property were detained.
Another person found at the home had an active warrant and was handed over to Bristol Township police.
Inside the home, investigators seized six handguns, nine rifles, five shotguns, numerous rounds of ammunition, and a bulletproof vest, according to police.
One handgun featured an obliterated serial number and was fitted with a drum magazine, police said.
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Investigators said they also recovered roughly a pound of methamphetamine, assorted pills, drug paraphernalia, and materials used to package illegal drugs.
Police said none of the firearms had been reported stolen at the time of the seizure, but investigators are looking at whether any of the weapons are tied to crimes.
At the time of the raid, Vandenberg was free on bail stemming from an unrelated Aug. 8, 2025, arson on Cedar Avenue in Croydon. A responding fire police officer was injured at a fire station during that incident and later died from his injuries.
Vandenberg is awaiting trial in that case.
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Bensalem Township Public Safety Director William McVey and Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan laid out the arrest at a Tuesday news conference.
Police displayed the cache of seized weapons to reporters.
“They saved lives with their actions,” McVey said of the investigators involved.
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Khan called Vandenberg a “dangerous” defendant who should remain jailed until trial.
The district attorney said the case highlights seamless collaboration across municipal, county, state, and federal law enforcement.
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Assisting in the case were the Bristol Township Police Department, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and the FBI’s Fort Washington Resident Agency.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
