Olaf Brurberg Andersen IV was drinking Coors Light inside Pete’s Bar in Neptune Beach, Florida, around 10:15 p.m. on Sept. 15 when a police officer approached him.
Someone had observed a firearm in Andersen’s waistband, according to the Neptune Beach Police officer. A Florida statute that is still in effect forbids carrying a concealed firearm into a tavern. The officer led the 24-year-old outside the bar, read him the Miranda Warning, and began questioning him in the field.
According to his arrest report, Andersen told the officer he was “unaware he was not allowed to carry a firearm inside establishments licensed to dispense alcohol.” He was arrested without incident. His Springfield XD and Blackhawk holster were seized and placed into property. “It should be noted the firearm was loaded with a round in the chamber,” the arrest report states.
Andersen was taken to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and charged with violating Florida state statute 790.06(12): Carry concealed weapon or firearm in portion of establishment licensed to dispense alcohol for consumption on premises.
Shane Wilson Adcox was drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon in Pete’s Bar one week ago, at about 10:47 p.m. According to the police report, he struck up a conversation with another client regarding a recent shoulder surgery he had and raised his shirt to demonstrate the scar from the procedure.
“Upon raising his shirt, Witness #1 noticed a firearm inside the suspect’s waistband. When the suspect noticed Witness #1 observing the firearm, he pointed to it and stated he was ‘in Blackwater,’ and referred to the firearm as his ‘side piece,’” his arrest report states.
Another Neptune Beach Police officer was summoned. Adcox, a 55-year-old retired Navy veteran, was escorted outside and detained. His arrest report states, “Post Miranda, the suspect stated that he was unaware he was not allowed to carry inside establishments licensed to dispense alcohol.”
Adcox’s 9mm GLOCK 45 was seized and he was also taken to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office jail. He was charged with violating three Florida state statutes: 790.06(12) Carry concealed weapon or firearm in portion of establishment licensed to dispense alcohol for consumption on premises, 790.10 Improper exhibition of a firearm or dangerous weapon and 790.151(3) Possessing a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
According to police accounts, Adcox never displayed his firearm or even withdrew it from the holster, and no sobriety testing was performed to ascertain whether he was under the influence of alcohol.
Andersen pled not guilty to the accusation and was sentenced to two days in jail, with credit for the two days he served after his detention. Andersen did not return phone calls or emails requesting comment for this article.
Adcox is scheduled to appear in court next month, but an assistant state attorney just dismissed two of the three accusations against him:
790.10 Improper exhibition of a firearm or dangerous weapon and 790.151(3) Possessing a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
Adcox is still recovering from the weekend he spent in the county jail.
“They threw me into the petri dish, man. I got out late Sunday night with a burning throat, sneezing and fever,” he said. “I tested positive for COVID and Strep. I’m still feverish.”
Prosecutors proposed a plea bargain in which he would attend numerous online courses and pay penalties and court expenses. His GLOCK, on the other hand, would be forfeited.
“They just suspended my CCW permit,” he said. “There’s no way I’m taking that deal.”
Eric Friday is Florida Carry, Inc.’s general counsel and chief lobbyist, as well as the state’s foremost authority on weapons law and Second Amendment rights.
According to the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which states that “history and tradition” should determine whether a law regulating firearms is constitutional under the Second Amendment, Florida’s statute that prohibits carrying a concealed firearm inside an establishment licensed to dispense alcohol is unconstitutional.
“If you understand Bruen, you have to look at the text, history and tradition and then find an analogous statute,” Friday said. “This statute is unconstitutional as to certain places, because you cannot find a founding-era statute that prohibits possession of firearms inside a bar, or one that prohibits possessing intoxicating liquor while possessing a firearm.”
Therefore, Friday said, both Andersen and Adcox should never have been charged.
“Prosecutors should have removed the charge. The public defender should have asked for the charge to be removed. The judge should have been told this by both attorneys, but he too should have known this was not a crime,” he said. “We’ve got checks and balances within the legal system. The problem is when police officers, public defenders, prosecutors and the judge fail to catch these errors, the system has indicted itself at that point.”
Adcox claims that neither the prosecutor nor his public defender has informed him that the charge he is still facing is potentially unconstitutional.
“My public defender said he was ‘looking into some things,’” he said.
