A Sykesville man was freed on a $5,000 unsecured bond yesterday after he was arrested and charged on 21 counts of illegal possession of firearms, including two machine guns and 19 regulated pistols.

Also seized Sunday from the home of Kurt Lee Ewy, 43, of the 500 block of Oklahoma Road were dozens of shotguns and rifles, which were stored in a room that had been booby-trapped with wire and tear gas, state police said.

Court records show Ewy was convicted of cocaine possession March 23, 1990. He was sentenced to six months in jail July 26, 1990. The next day, that term was modified to probation before judgment, and he was placed on three years' probation.

That 1990 conviction, police said in charging documents, makes possession of the regulated weapons illegal in Maryland.

Possession of all of the weapons violates federal laws, police said.

Pub Date: 11/26/98