They were apparently no threat to a federal judge, as some had suspected when a camouflaged father and son were caught last week in Stark County with guns in their car on the judge’s lawn. It was 1:30 in the morning.The vehicle was parked under trees in the front yard, and Randall Carl Edwards, 55, was behind the wheel.Beside him, according to Canton Municipal Court records, was a Remington .22-caliber rifle.The man’s son, Zachary Randall Edwards, 25, was in the passenger seat. Within his reach, extending from the back seat, was a Harrington & Richardson Topper M48 12-gauge shotgun, the kind of weapon kids usually use for their first hunting expedition.Both men have records and are unemployed, jail records show.“They’re goofy, but they weren’t out of control or anything,” Stark County Sheriff Tim Swanson said.His investigators have been looking into the pair’s actions for a week now, he said, and thus far have been unable to determine exactly what they were doing in the judge’s front yard, Swanson said. They were on the property of U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi, a former Stark Common Pleas judge, Swanson confirmed.But they were not an immediate threat to the judge, he said.“We really don’t know what they were up to, but whatever it was, it was no good,” Swanson said.Stark authorities, however, did persuade Judge Stephen Belden that the two were potentially dangerous, enough so that their bonds were set at $2 million cash or surety.Both men remained in the Stark County Jail Friday, after waiving their rights to a preliminary hearing in Belden’s court.“We don’t want to let them out and have them go back to what they were doing before,” Swanson said.Randall Edwards, who lives in a transient neighborhood in a four-unit apartment on Amsel Avenue Northeast in Canton, and his son, who gave officials a Beech Street address in Alliance, were shackled and dressed in orange jail clothes for Friday’s brief court appearance.Case bound overThey made no statements about their case, which was bound over to the grand jury by Belden for possible indictment.Both men are being held on one felony count of having a weapon under a previous criminal prohibition.Randall Edwards was convicted of drug possession in Mahoning County in 1990. His son was convicted of misdemeanor drug abuse earlier this year in Alliance.Additional misdemeanor charges, including improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, criminal trespassing and driving without a valid license against Randall Edwards were dismissed by motion of the city prosecutor, Ty Hauritz.After Friday’s hearing, defense attorney Anthony Koukoutas spoke briefly about what he has learned since the Sept. 21 arrests.“I don’t think they were out there looking for any judge. I don’t think they even knew a judge lived on the property,” Koukoutas said.The two apparently gave statements to sheriff’s investigators after they were arrested.“They said they were out there looking for some pot, supposedly growing in some field somewhere near there,” Koukoutas said. He did not explain why the men had guns in the vehicle, nor why, according to jail records, 12-gauge shotgun shells were found behind the driver’s seat. Investigators said they also found .22-caliber shells in the trunk. Swanson said it is a highly suspicious case. He said his investigators do not believe anything they were told by the pair.“Everything they told us turned out to be a lie. That’s why I say we’re not sure what they were up to. Everything thus far has been all misinformation,” the sheriff said.Earlier this week, Swanson had his men check out a lead that the two were looking to burglarize a drug dealer’s hangout. “But the drug dealer we suspected doesn’t live there any longer,” Swanson said. “He did some time ago, but not anymore.” Neighborhood canvassedInvestigators canvassed the neighborhood where Randall Edwards lived, in a cluster of two-story duplexes and triplexes near the corner of Easton Street Northeast and Middlebrook Avenue Northeast in Canton, but came away with nothing, Swanson said.A Beacon Journal reporter also went into the Amsel Avenue neighborhood this week, but two of the tenants in the apartment building where Randall Edwards lived said they didn’t know him and had no experiences with him.A woman who said she lived there with Edwards declined to answer any questions. “I don’t want to be bothered,” she said. Another woman, Shawna Blake, 25, said Zachary Edwards is her fiance. She said they have been engaged for three years and went to Sebring High together.Blake described Edwards as a “good person” who is well liked by her 4-year-old son.She did not have many nice things to say about Randall Edwards, except that he is a bad influence.Despite the trouble the men are in over the weapons allegations, Blake said she will stand by Zachary Edwards.Swanson said the investigation is continuing. Ed Meyer can be reached at 330 996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.