The Associated Press

Charles A. McCoy Jr., suspected in the Columbus-area highway shootings, talks with his lawyer, Mike Miller, during a preliminary court hearing Tuesday. The Associated Press/JAY LAPRETE

COLUMBUS - The mother of the highway shootings suspect found four guns in the house she shared with her son over several months, including one linked to a December shooting that is among those under investigation, according to court testimony Tuesday.

Ballistics tests linked a handgun found under the mattress of Charles A. McCoy Jr. in February to the shooting that damaged a house on Columbus' south side while residents slept, police ballistics expert Mark Hardy testified in Franklin County Municipal Court.

Authorities say McCoy is a suspect in all 24 shootings around the Columbus area since May, including one in November that killed a woman. McCoy is charged with felonious assault in the Dec. 15 shooting.

After the hearing, Judge Michael Brandt ruled prosecutors had enough evidence to take the shooting before a grand jury. The grand jury already has been hearing testimony in the case, but the ruling gives prosecutors another two months to prepare evidence against McCoy.

McCoy's mother, Ardith McCoy, testified she found a handgun under her son's mattress in mid-February, then turned it over to her ex-husband. She had previously given her ex-husband another handgun and two shotguns she had found in her son's living area.

Someone called police in March to say McCoy's father had guns belonging to his son. Charles McCoy Sr. gave police the guns after checking with his son and his ex-wife.

"He said, 'No problem,'" McCoy said of his son's reaction. "He said they could go ahead and take them."