Beaumont Store Owner Charged After Carrying AR-15 In Mall

Derek Poe of Beaumont has been charged with disorderly conduct after carrying an AR-15 into a store located in a mall in which he also owns a business.

Poe owns Golden Triangle Tactical in Beaumont’s Parkdale Mall. On December 28, he was shopping in the mall’s GameStop location with an AR-15 rifle slung around his back when he was confronted by police. Officers seized his weapon and charged him, saying he was displaying the rifle “in a manner calculated to alarm.”

Poe denies the allegation and says the rifle was facing barrel-down on his back and that his hands were nowhere near the weapon.

"It was clearly obvious I didn't have criminal intent. I had a drink in one hand and a bag in the other. I didn't commit a crime. I legally carried a long arm in Texas," he told KBMT-TV in Beaumont.

Detectives told KBMT that witnesses reported being terrified and feeling threatened.

Poe turned himself in to the Beaumont Police Department Friday morning and was released after posting $2,500 bond. If found guilty, he faces up to 180 days in jail and a fine up to $1,000.