Parole denied for HQ Plaza gunman

Andrew Pfitzenmayer, center, at sentencing in December 2015. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Andrew Pfitzenmayer, center, at sentencing in December 2015. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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Andrew Pfitzenmayer, center, at sentencing in December 2015. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Andrew Pfitzenmayer, center, at sentencing in December 2015. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

By Kevin Coughlin

Andrew Pfitzenmayer, the Somerset County man arrested with two semiautomatic handguns in Morristown’s Headquarters Plaza in July 2015, has been denied parole.

The state parole board ruled that Pfitzenmayer, 28, should serve at least one more year of his three-year prison term because of the risk he might violate parole terms, and because of the serious nature of his crime, which he has not “sufficiently addressed.”

Sentenced last December, he was eligible for parole this week, according to state corrections officials.

“His poor decision and lack of insight has not been sufficiently addressed. More programs might help him,” according to a parole board decision issued in October.

On July 29, 2015, Pfitzenmayer was arrested after bringing two Glock pistols into HQ Plaza– a complex that includes a daycare center, offices, movies, restaurants and a hotel.  The weapons were in a backpack that also contained hollow-point bullets, a police baton, fake badge and handcuffs.

The Peapack-Gladstone resident was wearing a bullet-proof vest, and inquired inside HQ Plaza about the location of the Secret Service office, according to court testimony.

Andrew Pfitzenmayer at sentencing in December 2015. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Andrew Pfitzenmayer at sentencing in December 2015. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Pfitzenmayer told authorities that his ultimate destination was a Randolph shooting range. His girlfriend was heading to a meeting and dropped him off at HQ Plaza, where he intended to inquire about office space for a business, he told authorities.

A charge relating to the ammunition was dropped. Pfitzenmayer pled guilty to one count of carrying a Glock handgun without a permit, a second-degree crime.

He began his prison term at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Yardville, and was transferred to the Bo Robinson Columbus House, a halfway house in Trenton, according to the state Department of Corrections.

Pfitzenmayer now won’t be eligible to seek parole until October 2017, the parole board ruled.

WATCH VIDEO OF THE SENTENCING

In his favor, the board cited his clean prior record, a positive interview, good behavior and participation in behavioral and institutional programs.

Pfitzenmayer, who had lived with his mother, had described himself as the CEO of an event planning business and a volunteer fireman in Far Hills-Bedminster.  Prosecutors said he fantasized about working in law enforcement.

Defense attorney Frank Pisano told Superior Court Judge Salem Ahto that Pfitzenmayer had a learning disability that prevented him from fully grasping the seriousness of his actions. 

The judge was unmoved by testimony that the guns were unholstered and unloaded in the backpack and, given Pfitzenmayer’s history, he expressed surprise that Pfitzenmayer was able to obtain the guns legally. Pfitzenmayer lacked a permit to carry the weapons.

The case sparked outrage from a Morristown mothers group when his initial bail conditions did not include a psychiatric evaluation.

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