A 35-year-old Wildwood man will have to appear in Lake County Court later this month after reportedly carrying a holstered weapon into Sam’s Club in Lady Lake.
Christopher James Cline walked into the store early on the afternoon of March 13 with the weapon in a holster on his hip, according to an incident report from the Lady Lake Police Department.
A store manager told Cline that Florida is not an open carry state and he would need to conceal the weapon. Cline told the manager he believed he could open carry while he was in the store shopping. The manager contacted the police department.
When a police officer arrived he made contact with Cline as he was exiting the store. The police officer asked if Cline had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, to which Cline answered he did not, according to the incident report. The officer then took the weapon and escorted Cline from the store.
Cline was read his Miranda rights and then told the officer he had been robbed and held at gunpoint in the past and that’s why he was carrying a firearm. He said he did not know it was illegal to carry a gun or that he needed a permit. He said that someone at the gun store where he had purchased the weapon told him it was “OK to open carry.”
Cline was issued a criminal citation and ordered to appear in court March 31 in Tavares.
The gun was returned to Cline.
