Headquarters Plaza gun-toter gets 3 years in prison

Described as "kind of a milquetoast" and a man who fantasized about being a police officer, a Peapack-Gladstone resident who walked around Headquarters Plaza in Morristown in July wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying two unloaded handguns in a backpack was sentenced Monday to three years in state prison.

Defendant Andrew Pfitzenmayer, 27, must serve one year of the three-year prison term before parole eligibility, under the sentence imposed by Superior Court Judge Salem Vincent Ahto in Morristown.

Even though Pfitzenmayer was aware he faced a three-year sentence when he pleaded guilty in October to unlawful possession of a weapon, he appeared stunned as Morris County Sheriff's officers approached to handcuff him and lead him out of the courtroom.

Addressing the judge, Pfitzenmayer said:  "Just to clarify, you're sentencing me to prison?" Ahto replied that he was.

"And...in normal language, why?" Pfitzenmayer said.  The judge replied that the sentence was for the reasons he had stated during the proceeding that lasted 90 minutes.

"And I would not be eligible for straight probation?"  The judge said no, after which Pfitzenmayer began to quietly sob.

Defense lawyer Frank Pisano asked the judge for a sentence of probation or even county jail time, even though Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Napurano had recommended a stint of three years in prison, with one year of parole ineligibility. Napurano had specifically sought permission from Superior Court Assignment Judge Stuart Minkowitz to deviate in his plea offer because, by law, a person convicted of carrying handguns without a carry permit would normally receive a sentence of five years with 42 months of parole ineligibility.

"This is a case of monumental judgment lapse. He wasn't on the street gang-banging," Pisano told the judge.

He said that Pfitzenmayer grew up with a learning disability that affects his ability to read and comprehend and therefore had not read the law that required him to obtain a permit to carry a gun in public. He thought he was compliant by carrying the unloaded Glocks in his backpack, Pisano said.

"He's kind of a milquetoast," Pisano said of Pfitzenmayer, who didn't give the judge a statement about the crime. "State prison is not for this gentleman. He is (technically) a criminal but not in his heart.  He made a foolish mistake."

Pisano argued that Pfitzenmayer has no prior criminal record and that he had his girlfriend drop him off at Headquarters Plaza around 9 a.m. on July 29 so he could look at office space in the business complex that houses a movie theater, health spa, day care center and dozens of offices, including a field office for the U.S. Secret Service. The judge noted that Pfitzenmayer specifically asked Headquarters security if the Secret Service was in the building.

"He was curious if they were still there. He was bored, he was passing time," Pisano replied.

Pisano said he did not know why Pfitzenmayer also was carrying a baton and handcuffs. Pfitzenmayer's questions to security officers prompted them to call police around 10 a.m. on July 29, authorities have said.

Pisano said that Pfitzenmayer was carrying a military-style bag containing two unloaded Glock handguns and magazines of hollow-point bullets because he planned to go to a shooting range in Randolph. Pfitzenmayer wore a bullet-proof vest because it wouldn't fit into his bag and he wanted the protection at the range, Pisano said.

Napurano, the assistant prosecutor, said the state conducted an exhaustive investigation to try to understand why Pfitzenmayer was at Headquarters at 9 a.m. on a Wednesday, attired as he was and asking questions about the Secret Service and movie theater times.  Napurano noted that at that time, a trial was occurring in Colorado over a slaughter of movie-goers at an Aurora, Colo. theater.

"For somebody to walk into Headquarters at 9 a.m. on a Wednesday, inquire about movie theater times and the United States Secret Service, yes, that is alarming," Napurano said.

He said the investigation involved multiple search warrants, examination of Pfitzenmayer's computer, and interviews with his relatives and now-ex-girlfriend.  The state even wanted to be sure that Pfitzenmayer was not linked to terrorist groups, Napurano said.

He said the probe revealed that Pfitzenmayer has a fascination with law enforcement and "very much had a fantasy about being a police officer."

Pisano said his client, who lives with his mother and grandmother in Peapack, owned his own concierge business and was interested in expanding the venture to include "protective services" or bodyguards for wealthy people.

While Pisano argued that Pfitzenmayer never contemplated harm and didn't threaten anyone, both the judge and Napurano said that Pfitzenmayer himself could have been killed considering the way he was dressed and carrying the guns in the backpack.

"What could have happened that day...he could have gotten himself killed," Napurano said.

The judge said: "If somebody didn't exercise restraint, some harm could have been bestowed on the defendant."

Ahto said he found it hard to accept and believe that Pfitzenmayer didn't know the laws about prohibitions on non-law enforcement officers having hollow-point bullets and that he needed a permit to carry handguns in public.

"For one not to comprehend the responsibility of having handguns is of major concern to me," the judge said.

After his arrest, Pfitzenmayer spent six days in the Morris County jail before his mother and grandmother posted $100,000 bail.  A judge who reviewed Pfitzenmayer's bail declined to order a psychiatric evaluation as a condition of bail, which resulted in an outcry by some Morristown mothers and Mayor Timothy Dougherty.

Pfitzenmayer later agreed to a psychiatric evaluation and in court Monday, there was no mention of Pfitzenmayer suffering any mental health related illnesses. Pisano said that his client has voluntarily been seeing a therapist and is petrified of going to prison.

"He's man enough to come in, stand tall.  He's here now, like a man," Pisano said.

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