Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – George Michael Fort, 60, was taken into custody last night following accusations of entering an apartment without permission, while armed with a gun. He allegedly posed as a police officer but lacked a license for openly carrying the firearm.

Around 8:30 p.m. on August 4, Gainesville Police responded to Carver Gardens Apartments at 1101 SE 15th Street. A witness reported having met Fort earlier in the day when he drove her and her children to a convenience store for snacks before bringing them back to the apartment.

Fort then reportedly started sending texts and making calls to the witness, accusing her of taking his cigars. One message allegedly stated, “My expensive product is missing… I don’t play this [expletive],” followed by a warning that he was “on my way there.” The witness claimed she informed Fort that she didn’t have his items and wanted no further contact.

Fort approached the apartment, knocked, and when no one answered, he allegedly entered with a handgun in a holster. A witness claimed Fort’s hand was on the gun, although he didn’t draw it; he reportedly claimed to be an officer but didn’t produce any identification.

A resident, who had permitted the witness to be there, entered and told Fort to leave, which he then did. Witnesses indicated that Fort later removed his gun and put it in his vehicle just before the police arrived.

The witness said she did not have Fort’s cigars.

The resident explained she was outside when she observed Fort walking by, hand on gun, making her uneasy due to his aggressive attitude, although she thought he was merely coming to pick up the witness. She recounted seeing him enter the apartment without consent and hearing the witness shout, prompting her to confront Fort and ask him to leave. Fort again claimed to be an officer but still didn’t show a badge.

The officer spoke with Fort while he was sitting in his vehicle, and Fort reportedly said, “I have a badge, let me get you my badge.” The officer handcuffed Fort, and Fort reportedly said the gun was in the center console of the car.

The officer reportedly found a gun in a holster in the center console, which was open and could be seen from the open driver’s side door. The gun reportedly had two magazines with a total of 30 rounds, but there was no round in the chamber.

A “golden eagle-top badge” that read “SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR” was reportedly in Fort’s possession, but the officer reported that Fort does not have a security license or private investigator’s license in Florida. Fort also reportedly had an altered ID badge from the “State of Georgia Human Resources Department,” issued in 2009, and an unaltered “Georgia Department of Human Services Department of Family and Children Services Region XIV” badge.

Post Miranda, Fort reportedly said he had taken the witness and her children to the store and then dropped them off at the apartment but later realized his Cuban cigars were missing. He said he contacted the witness by phone, but when she hung up on him, he went to confront her in person. He said the witness welcomed him into the apartment and offered to let him search her purse, but he refused. He said that when the witness and owner told him to leave, he left; he said he did not know why the witness would say he did not have permission to enter.

When asked why he didn’t leave his gun in the car, Fort reportedly said he had not thought of doing that and did not see an issue with carrying it openly. He reportedly said he never told anyone except the officer that he worked in law enforcement and did not know why the witness and owner would say he said that.

When asked about his work in law enforcement, Fort reportedly said he works for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations and Department of Family Services and the state of Florida, that he had worked for the Pentagon for 30 years, and that he is currently a private investigator in Georgia. He later reportedly said he was retired from both the State of Georgia and State of Florida but is now working as a private investigator and believed that meant he was working in law enforcement.

Fort reportedly said he had been openly carrying his gun all day, which is why he had it in the apartment. He said he did not know he could not openly carry in Florida and said he had all the necessary licenses; the officer reported that Fort did not possess any licenses that would permit him to carry a gun openly in Florida. Fort also reportedly said that if the officer pulled the security footage from the convenience store, it would show him openly carrying his gun there, too.

Fort’s address on the arrest report is a Gainesville address, but he was reportedly identified via his Georgia driver’s license; according to court records, he has lived in Gainesville for 60 years.

Fort has been charged with armed burglary and displaying a firearm during the commission of a felony. He has no criminal convictions. Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.