A domestic violence arrest in Oak Harbor led to the discovery of an illegal automatic weapon, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged Scott T. Hampton in Island County Superior Court with unlawful possession of a machine gun.

Deputies with the Island County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a domestic violence assault at Hampton’s home on Sept. 10, but he was gone when they arrived, according to a report by Detective Ed Wallace. Oak Harbor police arrested him the next day.

Since the case involved an accusation of domestic violence, deputies seized 34 firearms from Hampton’s house and one from his car. While processing the guns for safekeeping, Wallace discovered that a rifle had a silencer attached to the barrel, Wallace wrote. It is illegal to own a firearm suppressor without federal approval and a tax stamp.

Wallace also noticed that an AK-47-styled rifle appeared to have selector to make it fully automatic. The detective was able to determine that the rifle was a China clone of the famous Russian AK47 rifle and was made it State Factory 66.

Two detectives took the gun to a firing range in Central Whidbey and found that it does fire multiple rounds with a single trigger pull, the report states.

Washington state law prohibits the ownership of a machine gun. Hampton was not charged with possessing a suppressor, which is a gross misdemeanor crime in the state.

If convicted of the crime, Hampton could face from one to three months in jail under the standard sentencing range. He would lose the right to possess firearms if he’s convicted of the machine-gun-related felony charge or domestic violence assault in the fourth grade, which he is facing in district court.