61-year old Martin Kieffer of Harrisburg came to Ocean City for a family vacation, but instead faced a video arraignment today in Ocean City Municipal Court.
Kieffer was arrested early Sunday morning and is in the Cape May County jail. He is charged with a list of offenses including attempted murder for which he seemed surprised.
At 12:38 Sunday morning, police were called to a domestic dispute in the 100 block of Anchorage Drive. They say an intoxicated Kieffer and his son were fighting and Kieffer had pointed a gun at his son's head.
He was taken to the police station, and according to Lieutenant Steve Ang, he pulled a semiautomatic glock handgun, similar to this one on police. Fortunately, Ang says, the gun jammed.
"The officer on the driver's side of the vehicle yelled gun, they saw a weapon in the suspect's hand, it was aimed at the officer. The police officers reacted and were able to secure the weapon," Lieutenant Ang said.
Ang says the gun with 12 illegal hollow point bullets was stashed inside the pocket of a tactical men's holster shirt.
In all, police say a search that included Kieffer's vehicle, found four hand guns, several knives and drug paraphernalia.
"I did not know, believe it or not, that firearms and even pellet guns were illegal in New Jersey. I imagine there's no excuse for ignorance, right?" Kieffer asked the court via video.
Kiefer called himself disabled and a degenerate. He is being held on $750,000 bail. Meanwhile, Ocean City police are taking a hard look at their own procedures that failed to find a semiautomatic weapon on a suspect; that was a mistake Lt. Ang says could have resulted in carnage.
