Family Says Gun Laws are Flawed

"It's become very lonely because I did do so much with my son. Once that's gone, it's gone," says Nancy Cox.

It's been 499 days since Cox last saw her son alive. "It's just as if it happened yesterday."

What Cox struggles with is the feeling her son would be here today if someone had paid a little more attention.

"It floors me. I can't believe it." Cox says what she can't understand is how her son died. She also has trouble dealing with the past of the suspect who is charged with her son's murder.

"How does he get a permit? How does people like Adam Hill get a gun permit," asks Cox. Adam Hill is a 25-year-old who lived at the Moultrie Apartments in St. Augustine.

According to the police report, on January 7, 2008, Hill was home and stopped by a friend's apartment.

It was the same place where Clayton Patterson was sitting on the couch watching a movie.

According to the report, an eyewitness told police, Hill walked in, "...pulled out a revolver and pointed it," at Clayton. The report then says Hill said, "Hey Clayton, you want to get shot."

According to the report, the gun went off and Hill "appeared to be shocked" the gun fired. Moments later, 21-year-old Clayton Patterson was dead.

"It's absolutely egregious that this young man, Mr. Hill, was able to not only purchase a firearm but obtain a concealed weapons permit issued by the State of Florida," says attorney Barry Newman.

Newman has looked into Hill's past and what he's found, he says, is troubling.

In fact, he says there are red flags that should have been noted and should have kept Hill from even getting a gun.

"Mr. Hill we understand had a long standing mental illness. Including some in-patient care. He was separated under the military under some questionable circumstances that involved a firearm. Those things should have been known to FDLE and the Department of Agriculture and the state of Florida if they are going to be in the business of approving these things," says Newman.

According to court records, Hill was arrested in St. John's County in March 2005 for carrying a concealed gun.

He even failed to show up in court on the charge, but later the case was dismissed.

"Had he been convicted of the crime, that would have been disabling," says Newman.

Instead, Hill entered a pre-trial intervention program. Records show two years later, Hill bought numerous guns and was able to get a concealed weapons permit.

One neighbor told police they saw hill, "at least twice a week" with a gun.

Another neighbor said Hill was, "Always carrying a gun and playing with it."

First Coast News has learned several of those who knew Hill and were aware of his mental problems called the St. Augustine Police Department and St. John's County Sheriff's Office with concerns that Hill had a gun.

Their fear, they say, was Hill didn't understand the concept of what a firearm could do. But police could do nothing because according to state law, Hill had done nothing wrong and was within his rights to have a gun and permit.

"Under what we know now, he should never have been allowed to have a firearm. He should never have been able to keep the firearm. Those laws need to be changed," says Newman.

The law requires a thorough background check in order to get a gun and permit.

Some things that disqualify an individual is being a convicted felon, having a history of domestic violence or having a court deem the person mentally defective.

While Hill had a history of mental problems, no court had found him as being mentally incapacitated. "I mean why are we giving gun permits to people with mental issues. My son's gone."

While FDLE runs the criminal check for someone to get a gun, the Department of Agriculture is over the process to approve a concealed weapons permit.

"Two years ago, we were probably getting three to five thousand applications a month. Now, we're getting twelve to fifteen thousand a month," says Terry McElroy of the Department of Agriculture.

McElroy says the process is labor intensive. And the staff makes sure to process those requests within the boundaries of the law.

"Unless the person fits one of the categories of disqualification, they are to be given a concealed weapons permit. That's what the law demands," says McElroy.

The Department cannot talk about Hill's case. In fact, the records filed with FDLE for Hill's guns were destroyed within 48 hours of the approval process.

"Can we say that no mistakes have ever been made, of course not. We can't say that. We've issued probably over a million concealed weapons permits over the last decade, or last 15 years. But I can tell you this, we have done a study and the number of law abiding citizens who have permits, less than one-tenth of one percent have gone out and committed a crime with that weapon," says McElroy.

FDLE told Clayton's family that it has reviewed Hill's information and they, "Do not find anything in the current record that would have prohibited him from purchasing a firearm," prior to his arrest.

"I think that's kind of brushing off something they should pay closer attention to," says Clayton's mom.

Clayton's family is now demanding the legislature make changes. The family wants law enforcement to have more tools available to catch a case like Hills.

Fish says the laws in place just need to be enforced more stringently. "It's just a fluke. One of the unfortunate situations where everything aligned wrong and in the wrong way, and it turned out to be an unfortunate outcome for some people," says Fish.

Clayton's mother disagrees. "Yes it's broken, along with me." She calls the system full of cracks that need to be filled.

That's her mission now. She says that is all she has left. "You just have to put one foot in front of the other and go on, and that's what he would be saying to me right now.

Hill is charged with second degree murder. His trial is set for July.

Hill's attorney did not return our phone calls for comment.

A judge has ordered Hill to undergo a mental evaluation before he heads back to court.