Antoinette Forbes update: Shocking details emerge about ex Russell Ashford as he faces gun charges – 5 things to know

Amid the ongoing search for PR executive Antoinette Forbes, who mysteriously disappeared from her DC home, her ex-partner is facing new charges in Pennsylvania.

Amid the ongoing search for PR executive Antoinette Forbes, who mysteriously disappeared from her DC home without her phone, wallet or car, her ex-partner is facing new charges in Pennsylvania. Russell Ashford, who is reportedly the father of Forbes’ 10-year-old son, is facing charges unrelated to her disappearance, according to NBC Washington.

Antoinette Forbes update: Shocking details emerge about ex Russell Ashford as he faces gun charges (Antoinette Forbes/Facebook)

Ashford appeared in a Pennsylvania courtroom Wednesday, September 16. Per the outlet, court documents state that investigators found several guns while executing search warrants after Ashford's arrest over the weekend.

Five things to know about Russell Ashford

Here are five things to know about Russell Ashford:

• Police are not calling Ashford a suspect in Forbes’ disappearance.
• Ashford was expected to be extradited back to Maryland after his arrest for allegedly violating his probation. It stems from his conviction for assaulting Forbes in Chevy Chase, Maryland, in 2021. Her family recently addressed the assault that left her with permanent injuries to her eyes and hands. "In 2021 a jury convicted the man who assaulted Antoinette. It was brutal. The justice system did not protect my sister then. We are asking it to protect her family now," Forbes' sister Aileen Forbes said in the statement.
• Ashford was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the assault. However, he only served nine months. Last July, a judge struck the conviction from his record, over the objection of Montgomery County’s State’s Attorney, but kept Ashford on probation.
• Currently, Ashford is in custody in Pennsylvania over new gun possession charges. Investigators said he was not allowed to have a firearm under the terms of his probation. According to Beaver County District Attorney Nathan Bible, under Pennsylvania law, convicted of a felony involving domestic assault is not allowed to possess weapons, even if the assault took place in another state. "The sentence that you receive under this domestic violence statute that is considered a conviction," Bible said. "You know, under Maryland law, we you know honor that here with that being the underlying charge that would prohibit them in Pennsylvania."
• Court documents showed that a woman who claimed she is in an off-and-on relationship with Ashford contacted police Tuesday, September 15, and alleged that he had dropped off several guns at her home last summer, including a Heckler & Koch pistol, a Ruger pistol, rifles and shotguns. The woman told police that Ashford was ex-military and had retired from the FBI or CIA, which Bible said he learned from Maryland officials too. The woman alleged that Ashford asked her if he could store his guns at her home.

Antoinette Forbes’ disappearance

Forbes, 53, was last seen Friday afternoon, September 4, at her home in Washington, DC, a day before she FaceTimed her sisters about plans to get together in Florida to visit their mother for the holidays. They became concerned when she failed to respond to a planned catch-up online Sunday, September 6. The front door of her home was found unlocked with all of important personal items and her dog, Max, inside.

According to Fox News, DC’s Metropolitan Police Department has classified the hunt as a critically missing person. Her home is being treated as an active crime scene, according to Aileen.

Police described Forbes as an Asian woman who is 5-foot-2 with black hair and brown eyes.