by SEAN KIMMONS

SIMMONS

Authorities are on the hunt for a man with a history of mental heath issues and illegal weapons crimes who may be connected to a homicide and home explosion in Buda on April 17.

Investigators say Mark David Simmons, 51, is a “person of interest” in the murder investigation. Simmons is considered armed and dangerous and has an active arrest warrant out of Rockport, Texas for illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Though not yet officially a suspect, Simmons is a longtime associate of victim Steven Woelfel, 55, and one of the last persons to see him alive.

The Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office, tasked with carrying out the autopsy, ruled the death a homicide, said Justice of the Peace Scott Cary, who oversees the area in which the murder took place.

Mark David Simmons, a person of interest in the murder of Steven Woelfel, is thought by investigators to be driving a 2008 Hyundai Sonata like the one above. (Courtesy photo)

Cary couldn’t give the exact cause of death since it is still an open investigation but sources close to the investigation say Woelfel, a Buda resident, was shot in the head execution-style.

Investigators believe Simmons is driving a silver-blue 2008 Hyundai Sonata, reportedly stolen from Aransas County, license plate number FKR-062.

Simmons’ mother, Wanda Simmons, told the Hays Free Press that it was her car that was stolen on April 1, the last time she had contact with him.

“It’s my car,” she said. “I don’t know what happened. He just got in the car and took off.”

She said that her son, a paranoid schizophrenic not currently medicated, was  living with her in Rockport and employed as a ceramic tile worker. Woelfel, the victim, owned Precision Tile, a tile laying business that he operated from his home.

Simmons was unaware of the relationship between her son and Woelfel but said that her son is not a violent person.

“I wish he would just turn himself in,” she said.

In 2008, Simmons completed 10 years probation for prohibited weapons charges in College Station, Texas, according to Brazos County court records.

In the early morning hours of May 2, 1997, police in an unmarked patrol car on burglary detail witnessed Simmons carrying a duffel bag into a wooded area. They later stopped him and noticed a 9mm Glock pistol and a .32 caliber Beretta automatic Tomcat pistol in his wristband and on his ankle, court records say.

Police then searched the wooded area and found three holes dug into the ground next to a metal detector. Three pipe bombs were later unearthed nearby.

A search of Simmons’ home and a field revealed more weapons in his small arsenal, including a Charter Arms pistol and three .22 caliber Ruger Mark II pistols with silencers attached to the barrels, according to court records.

Simmons advised police that he was a racist who didn’t like black people.

“Simmons spoke about how he was a racist and then about how the white race needed to start preparing for the war. Simmons stated the reason why he had the guns on him was because he was being prepared,” a police report filed within court records said.

On Feb. 11, 2010 Simmons was arrested again for illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He did not show up to his court date, which lead to the active warrant being issued.

Only a handful of the details surrounding the recent murder case have been released: One fire was deliberately started in the detached garage, which sits about 20 feet from the house, located at 1132 Live Oak Loop. Buda firefighters arrived on the scene of the garage fire at 11 a.m. and found the structure fully engulfed, said Buda Fire Chief Clay Huckaby.

About five minutes later, an explosion blew out the windows of the home and ripped the back wall off the structure. Investigators say the explosion may have been caused by lit candles that were left in front of an ignited gas stove.

Because the garage sits to the side of the house and the explosion pushed out the front and back of the house, firefighters escaped the brunt of the blast.

Woelfel’s body was discovered in the charred garage.

Investigators did say Woelfel’s family, concerned after not hearing from him for an extended period of time, called the Hays County Sheriff’s Office the day before his body was found and requested they conduct a welfare check.

Deputies went to the house but no one answered the door, sheriff’s spokesperson Lt. Leroy Opiela said.

The sheriff’s office has requested the Department of Public Safety and Texas Rangers to help with the ongoing investigation.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Hays County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 512-393-7814.