Accused HQ Plaza gun-toter offered deal

A Peapack resident who is charged with walking around Headquarters Plaza in Morristown wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying two Glock handguns was offered a plea bargain Tuesday of three years in prison, with one year of parole ineligibility.

Andrew Pfitzenmayer, now 27, appeared with defense lawyer Frank Pisano for a status conference in Morristown before state Superior Court Judge Stephen Taylor, nearly two months after he aroused suspicions on July 29 inside the busy Headquarters Plaza complex on Speedwell Avenue.

The complex houses multiple attorneys’ offices, an office of the Secret Service, a movie theater, health spa and day care center.

Police, called to the scene by a concerned person at Headquarters Plaza, said they found Pfitzenmayer wearing a bullet-proof vest, carrying a fake police badge and expandable baton, and carrying two unloaded Glock handguns along with two magazines of hollow-point bullets in a backpack.

He did not make any threats, and  Pfitzenmayer legally owns the handguns but does not have a permit to carry them.

In court Tuesday, Assistant  Morris County Prosecutor Joseph Napurano said the state has offered Pfitzenmayer a recommended sentence of three years in prison, with one year of parole ineligibility, if he agrees by Oct. 27 to plead guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a handgun.

If the plea is rejected, the state’s offer to resolve the case will rise to five years in prison, with 42 months of parole ineligibility, Napurano said.

“If you don’t accept it on that date, the state will withdraw the plea offer” (of three years), Taylor told Pfitzenmayer.

Napurano said that Pfitzenmayer, who posted $100,000 bail on Aug. 3 to be released from the Morris County Jail, has undergone a psychiatric evaluation and has complied with all other bail conditions. They include staying away from Headquarters Plaza, possessing no weapons and refraining from contact with law enforcement officers unless he has a legitimate reason.

The state is still awaiting the completion of the psychiatric report, Napurano said.

Pfitzenmayer initially was released from jail without the condition of undergoing an evaluation, even though Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Troiano had stressed to a judge on July 31 the seriousness of the case and Pfitzenmayer’s lack of legitimate purpose in carrying the guns and asked that a psychiatric exam be ordered.

Morristown Mayor Timothy Dougherty then held a newsconference to express dismay and say he would push for mandatory evaluations of people who are not authorized to carry guns but are arrested in public buildings with them.

About two weeks after Pfitzenmayer’s release, his lawyer and the Prosecutor’s Office reached a pact under which Pfitzenmayer voluntarily agreed to an evaluation.

If Pfitzenmayer accepts the three-year prison offer, the Prosecutor’s Office, by Attorney General directive, will have to make a motion before Superior Court Assignment Judge Stuart Minkowitz for a waiver from the standard plea offer of five years, with 42 months of parole ineligibility, extended in  Graves Act cases of unlawful possession of a handgun.

In general, the Graves Act normally calls for defendants to be sentenced to at least five-years, with 42 months before parole consideration, but the directive on waiver provides a safety valve from the imposition of an unjust sentence. Pfitzenmayer does not have a criminal record.

Pisano, the defense lawyer, declined to comment after the hearing and said his client also would not comment.

Pfitzenmayer remains charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon and two counts of possessing prohibited devices -- two magazines containing 20 rounds of hollow-nose bullets.

Authorities have said that Pfitzenmayer gave “inconsistent information” and “untruthful information” about his purpose in being at Headquarters Plaza, including that he operated a business at the complex. Authorities have said Pfitzenmayer had been “expelled” from a Somerset County rescue squad and his volunteer relationship with the Far Hills-Bedminister Fire Department was “tenuous.”

Pfitzenmayer’s social media profile on Facebook says he attended Rutgers University and is president of an event planning business based in Far Hills called St. Leger Concierge that was started in 2012. Jail records also list his occupation as an event planner for St. Leger Concierge.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.