Deputies have arrested and charged a wanted Georgia man who buried a loaded .40 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun outside of the Forsyth County courthouse just before walking in to appear in court.
Deputies reported that Sheldon Oliver, 23, was to appear for a bond hearing, as per Forsyth News, but proceeded to hide his weapon before entering, as handguns are banned in the courthouse.
He put the Smith and Wesson in a Louis Vuitton bag, the Forsyth News reports, then dug a hole in the gravel near an air conditioner unit and placed the bag in the hole. Oliver was seen on surveillance cameras stashing the weapon and approaching the courthouse without the handgun. He was allowed to walk into the courthouse, passed successfully through security metal detectors, and was later confronted about hiding the bag with the loaded handgun.
Oliver was approached and made aware of an outstanding warrant for his arrest for alleged participation in the armed burglary of a donation box that was located at Hazah Islamic Center, located in South Forsyth, Georgia.
According to Fox 5 Atlanta, Sheriff Rob Freeman said, “Do I believe he had intent to do harm inside the courthouse? No. There’s no evidence to lead to that. But yet this is a person involved in criminal activity.”
As of last Friday, Oliver was in the Forsyth County Jail on $28,730 bond and faced charges of burglary, carrying a weapon without a license, and reckless conduct.