Halloween was scarier than usual for partygoers when detectives say unlicensed security guards opened fire on a car in the crowded parking lot of a shopping plaza in North Lauderdale.
Kenneth Jerry Sene, 24, and Jimmy Adrien, 33, were arrested April 28 and accused of firing more than a dozen shots at that party six months earlier.
According to court records, Sene and Adrien were two of several unlicensed security guards who fired weapons. Sene was hired by the unlicensed Top Notch Security service that Adrien said he owned. The firm was providing security for party organizer Dripkingz Promotions.
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The incident happened about 2 a.m. outside the Express Restaurant and Grill in the Champions Square plaza at 1401 S. State Road 7 on Halloween.
During police questioning, Sene said he had the required Class D and Class G licenses to provide armed security. Regulators at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said he did not.
Adrien was licensed to carry a firearm as a security guard, but that license was rendered invalid because the state said his security business was unlicensed.
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Sene told detectives he was initially unarmed at the party and was there to search patrons for weapons. Sene went to his car to get his gun when several women started arguing. Adrien said he saw one woman reach into the VW and threaten to get a gun, investigators said.
Adrien told detectives the Volkswagen revved its engine, so he fired a single shot from a rifle fearing the VW was about to hit the other security guards, the arrest report stated.
Sene said he was just trying to disable the vehicle by shooting at the tires, but one person was wounded. Their name was redacted from the report.
Broward Sheriff’s deputies arrived, photographed and confiscated Sene’s gun and Adrien’s rifle, and two more Glock handguns and ammunition Adrien was carrying. Detectives later viewed surveillance video of the event.
Adrien and Sene are facing charges that include falsely impersonating a security guard, openly displaying a firearm and discharging a firearm in public. Adrien was released from the Broward County Jail on a $9,000 bond and Sene was released on a $7,000 bond, records show.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with details on Jimmy Adrien's arrest.
