Lawyers will present evidence next week during a pre-trial hearing in the case of a Norwich man accused of stockpiling a cache of automatic weaponry and homemade pipe bombs in his city apartment.

New London Superior Court Judge Shari Murphy said Thursday a suppression hearing – in which the admissibility of potential evidence is argued ahead of a trial – requested by Andrew Cook, 60, of 165 Prospect St., will begin Nov. 16 and could last for two days.

The hearing will come nearly seven months after Cook, a convicted felon who faces numerous weapons charges stemming from his 2021 arrest, rejected a plea deal and opted to take his case to trial.

Norwich police officers were initially called to the Prospect Street boarding house on Feb. 28, 2021, by Cook who reported an intruder attempting to gain access to the house, according to police reports. Officers later returned to the residence in response to a report of an argument between an intoxicated Cook and a housemate, according to police.

Police said Cook made numerous threats to “shoot the victim as well as officers on scene,” the report states. In the basement, police said they noticed what appeared to be a gun in the process of being built, which led to a warrant search of Cook’s room, the basement and garage.

Police said they found a fully loaded and functional AR-15 assault rifle – with a round in the chamber – in a drawer under a bed of Cook’s second-floor room, along with two attached loaded 30-round magazines. Three more loaded magazines were found nearby, police said.

Police said the weapon’s serial number had been removed and painted over. The lower section of another AR-15 was found on a workbench, its serial number replaced with an “image of a person holding the middle finger with the words, ‘Here’s your serial number,’” a police report stated.

Two live PVC pipe bombs packed with shrapnel and gunpowder were in a closet as was a partially completed device, police said. Police said they also found a bag containing several hundred rounds of empty shell casings, gun powder and bullet projectiles along with body armor.

When being escorted to a police cruiser after his arrest, Cook allegedly threatened an officer.

“You’re gonna learn the wrath of God when your f------ head gets blown off,” Cook said, according to a search and seizure warrant affidavit and application.

Cook’s public defender, Michael Miller, is seeking to suppress evidence seized by police on state and constitutional grounds. In his motions to suppress, Miller argues officers had no reason to conduct a protective sweep of the boarding house basement or enter his client’s room.

The suppression hearing is expected to feature police body camera footage and transcript exhibits. Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Thomas DeLillo said he expects to elicit testimony from Norwich police officers.

Cook, who has prior convictions for illegal weapons and explosives possession, is charged with two counts of illegal bomb manufacturing, two counts of criminal possession of a firearm, three counts of possession of high-capacity magazines and one count of illegal alteration of a firearm identification.

If convicted of all counts, Cook faces a maximum sentence of nearly 67 years, eight of which are mandatory.

Cook in April rejected a plea offer to plead guilty to one count each of illegal bomb manufacturing and criminal possession of a firearm in exchange for a prison term of 12 years.

j.penney@theday.com