LARGO, Fla. — Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri has filed a lawsuit against a Bay area gun manufacturer. 

  • Pinellas sheriff files lawsuit against gun manufacturer
  • Sheriff office pulls its AR-15s due to malfunctioning
  • Sheriff's office bought 309 AR-15s from Adams Arms

Last month, the sheriff's office pulled all its AR-15s made my Adams Arms from deputies after discovering serious manufacturing issues with the rifles.

The agency began purchasing the guns from Adams Arms, located in Odessa, in 2014. The sheriff's office has since bought hundreds of AR-15s from the company. 

Gualtieri said some of the rifles fire randomly like automatic weapons while at least one gun did not fire at all. 

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the lawsuit is seeking damages in excess of $15,000. However, Gualtieri has said he would like a full refund  for all of the 309 weapons purchased from the company. That would be about $301,000. 

In a statement to the Times, Adams Arms President Jason East said company officials are disappointed the sheriff took this approach and declined any further comment.