Volusia deputy finds dagger hidden in man’s shoe during courthouse security screening

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A DeBary man was charged Friday after deputies say he was caught trying to enter the Volusia County Courthouse with a dagger hidden in his shoe.

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Deputies say 26-year-old Austin Irvine entered the security screening area at the courthouse in Debary just after 11 a.m. and placed his items into a bin to be sent through the X-ray machine.

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According to the Sheriff’s Office, when Irvine walked through the metal detector it gave an alert in the area of his feet.

Irvine was asked to walk through a second time and the metal detector alerted around his feet again. At that point Irvine was asked to remove his shoes to be X-rayed.

Once the shoes were fed through the machine, Volusia County Deputy Trevor Gamble was able to see the dagger hidden in the sole of Irvine’s right shoe.

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According to the sheriff’s office, Irvine claimed he didn’t know the dagger was in his shoe and tried to claim the shoes didn’t even belong to him.

Irvine was charged with carrying a concealed weapon into the courthouse, a misdemeanor.

Deputies filed a risk protection order against Irvine in September of 2021 after an incident at his home in Debary in which they say he fired a shotgun at people who “didn’t exist.”

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Under the ROP, any firearms and ammunition were able to be removed from Irvine’s possession, but it did not apply to other weapons.

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