A Palm Beach County man was arrested Saturday after he was found with a loaded gun and ammunition trying to enter the Stonewall Pride Parade and Street Festival, police said.
Michael Monheit, 31, tried to enter the Wilton Manors event at the east security checkpoint about 8 p.m., the police department said in a news release Monday, about the same time the glow-in-the-dark nighttime parade was scheduled to start.
Metal detectors were at all entrances into the festival this year, the department said. An alarm activated when Monheit walked through one of the metal detectors, at Northeast 11th Avenue and Wilton Drive, “prompting security to immediately order Monheit multiple times to stop, which he ignored.”
Monheit ignored law enforcement officers who also ordered him to stop, but they detained him.
Officers found a Glock 43 9mm handgun clipped to his waistband when they searched him, according to a probable cause affidavit, and two loaded 9mm magazines in his pocket.
Monheit did not have a valid concealed weapons license on him, and records showed he previously had a concealed weapons permit revoked after he was committed under the Baker Act, a state law that allows authorities to commit a person to a mental health hospital for up to 72 hours.
“Law enforcement continues to investigate this incident to learn about Monheit’s motive and intentions which is unknown at this time,” the police department said.
Monheit, of Loxahatchee, faces one count of trespassing and one count of unlawful carry of a concealed firearm, court records show.
Palm Beach County court records show Monheit was arrested in late 2016, accused of criminal mischief after he intentionally drove into a security gate multiple times at his gated community in Boynton Beach where he then lived. The State Attorney’s Office did not file formal charges.
There are no other criminal cases in Palm Beach County or Broward County court records involving him.
Also in 2016, the homeowners association filed a civil complaint against Monheit, alleging he violated the association’s rules by driving into the gate, “has intentionally targeted, nearly hitting, pedestrians in the community, including, but not limited to, residents and children” and allegedly shot a gun outside of his home, according to the complaint. Other residents had previously contacted police about Monheit’s erratic driving and “his attempts to target pedestrians,” the complaint said.
The complaint alleged Monheit shot a firearm and caused “his garage door to become ridden with bullet holes” and had “brandished his firearm at the Association’s maintenance personnel in a deliberate attempt to intimidate and scare” the workers.
Monheit also had spray-painted the garage door of his home, making it look “as if it had been vandalized causing an eye sore and a visual nuisance,” the complaint alleged.
The complaint also said Monheit would regularly dump loose trash in his driveway, almost daily, attracting coyotes, birds, rodents and other wildlife.
Monheit sold and moved out of the home in 2018, court records show.
This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.
Originally Published: