TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 28 (UPI) -- An ex-Army Ranger with post-traumatic stress disorder admitted trying to bring a loaded gun and 300 rounds of ammunition onto MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.
Scott Harkenreader, 49, who worked on the base as a civilian Defense Department employee, pleaded guilty Monday to trying to bring the handgun and ammunition onto the base near Tampa in August, the Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg, reported.
Prosecutors are recommending as part of a plea deal Harkenreader be sentenced to a year of supervised release, surrender the gun, undergo psychiatric treatment and not return to the Air Force base.
Harkenreader is to be sentenced March 29 by a federal judge, who is not obligated to follow prosecutors' recommendation.
The misdemeanor charges carries a maximum sentence of no more than one year in prison.
Paul Sisco, Harkenreader's attorney, told a U.S. District Court judge he was prepared to take the case to trial and said MacDill warnings about what items are prohibited are unclear and "vague."
Sisco also said Harkenreader suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder but Magistrate Judge Anthony Porcelli said he was competent to stand trial.
The Times said Harkenreader, a veteran of Grenada and other U.S. military campaigns, and his attorney declined to comment after a plea hearing, and a MacDill spokeswoman did not return a message seeking comment.
