Marc Simmons hadn’t heard from his estranged friend in nearly seven years. Then, Nigel Max Edge showed up at his work and falsely accused Simmons of stealing his identity.

They met taking community college classes and bonded over their time with the Marines in Iraq. Simmons’ kids once called Edge “Uncle Sean” — back when his name was still Sean William DeBevoise.

Simmons was now terrified his old friend would retaliate against him, he told a judge.

“The defendant, Nigel Edge, is mentally unstable,” Simmons said in a handwritten request for a protective order. “Always has a pistol on him, on high doses of medications that cause defendant to be anxious."

That was back in May, four months before authorities say Edge, a former Marine sniper, guided a motorboat up to a crowded Cape Fear Riv

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