By Kevin Coughlin -

Video: ‘What were you doing in there with a gun?’

By Kevin Coughlin

The Somerset County man accused of bringing two semiautomatic handguns and hollow-point bullets into Morristown’s Headquarters Plaza eventually was headed to a Randolph shooting range, he told a judge on Tuesday.

“I was looking for office space, and I was going to the shooting range after, and I took my backpack with me instead of leaving it in the car,” Andrew Pfitzenmayer, 27, said of his foray into HQ Plaza on the morning of July 29, 2015.

Pfitzenmayer must serve at least one year of a three-year prison term if a plea deal submitted on Tuesday is approved by Superior Court Assignment Judge Stuart Minkowitz.

Superior Court Judge Salem Ahto accepted Pfitzenmayer’s guilty plea to one count of carrying a Glock handgun without a permit, a second-degree crime. A charge related to the illegal ammunition was dropped, as part of the agreement with the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.

Pfitzenmayer could have faced a maximum of 10 years in jail and a $150,000 fine. The state’s Graves Act for gun offenses mandated a minimum of five years, with no parole eligibility for 42 months.

But a directive from the state Attorney General has told prosecutors to seek three years in cases such as this, Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Napurano told Judge Ahto.

Pfitzenmayer, a Peapack-Gladstone resident who has described himself as CEO of an event planning business and a volunteer fireman in Far Hills-Bedminster, has no prior criminal record, according to authorities.

He was arrested wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying a backpack containing the Glock pistols, hollow-point bullets, handcuffs, an expandable baton and a fake badge.

Headquarters Plaza has a daycare center, cineplex, hotel, restaurants and offices. Security cameras recorded Pfitzenmayer in one of the tower lobbies, and in a food area, Napurano said.

An unnamed person at Headquarters Plaza observed the man “acting suspiciously” and called police, authorities have said.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Ahto read a psychiatric evaluation of Pfitzenmayer. Its findings were not made public.

The evaluation had been added to Pfitzenmayer’s bail conditions after a public outcry led by a Morristown mothers group. Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty vowed to press for legislation requiring such reports in weapons incidents like this one.

Ahto maintained Pfitzenmayer’s bail at $100,000, and continued a ban on him venturing into Headquarters Plaza or having contact with anyone there. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 3, 2015.

On the day of his arrest, was

Pfitzenmayer’s ultimate destination was the RTSP training range in Randolph, he told Ahto. This prompted an incredulous response from the judge, who handles gun permit applications for the court.

“One of the things you had to know, because you have to be knowledgeable, you can only go directly to a range from your home,” the judge said. “You can’t carry it and walk around with a gun. You understand that?”

“I understand it now, sir,” Pfitzenmayer responded.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS CASE

Please click icon below for slideshow captions.

