Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Man sleeping in truck had ‘arsenal of weapons’
When Miami Beach police answered an early morning call about a pickup blocking an alley on a South Beach street, they found an armed South Dakota man behind the wheel with booze on his breath and surrounded by
“an arsenal of weapons,” authorities said.
It was about 2 a.m. Thursday when police went to 14th Street and Ocean Court after being told that a red truck with a sleeping driver was blocking the alley.
Arriving officers found David James Goldammer “slouched” in the driver’s seat of a red Ford pickup with its engine running, a Miami Beach police arrest report said.
An officer woke Goldammer, 32, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, by shining a flashlight in his eyes.
“I smelled a strong and distinct odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from within the vehicle,” the arrest report said.
Inside the truck, officers found two bottles of Yuengling beer, one empty and one with beer in it, police said. And on the center console, they saw “two unholstered black firearms,” the report said.
Ordered out of the truck, Goldammer lost his balance and almost fell, police said. And when he was patted down, officers found he was carrying a loaded .357 magnum revolver in the waistband of his pants, according to the arrest report.
When further searching the truck, officers found “two additional loaded handguns, one semi-automatic rifle, a large amount of ammunition, a pocketknife with a swastika on it, as well as a bullet-resistant vest,” said Miami Beach Police detective Ernesto Rodriguez, a spokesman for the department.
Because of the beer, smell of alcohol and Goldammer’s mumbled answers, police said officers also began a DUI investigation.
Goldammer was found to have a South Dakota concealed weapons permit, police said, but it was not possible to verify its validity.
He was ultimately charged with carrying a concealed firearm, openly carrying a weapon and DUI and jailed on bonds totaling $6,500, records show.
On the way to jail, Goldammer began banging on the inside of the van that was transporting him, police said.
Miami Beach police didn’t say how long Goldammer had been in South Florida and why he was in the region.