A Capitol Hill staff member charged with carrying a handgun into a House office building in December agreed to a plea bargain Wednesday under which the case against him will be dismissed if he performs community service and stays out of criminal trouble for six months.

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       Jeffrey L. Allsbrooks, 57, caused a brief lockdown of the Longworth House Office Building on Dec. 9 after he passed through a security checkpoint with a loaded 9mm Glock pistol in his backpack. He continued into the building before U.S. Capitol Police realized he was carrying the weapon and began looking for him.

       Authorities said Allsbrooks has a valid Virginia permit to carry a concealed handgun, issued by Henrico County Circuit Court. He later told police that he had inadvertently left the gun, loaded with 14 rounds, in his bag when he came to work that morning.

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       Allsbrooks, a logistics manager in the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, was charged with possessing an unregistered firearm in the District and unlawfully possessing ammunition, both misdemeanors. Appearing Wednesday in D.C. Superior Court, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted possession of an unregistered firearm in the city.

       Under his plea deal with the D.C. attorney general’s office, if Allsbrooks is not charged with another crime in any jurisdiction between now and Aug. 8 and completes 20 hours of community service, he will be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea in Superior Court. At that point, the attorney general’s office said, it would move to dismiss the case.

       In an affidavit filed in court, police said Allsbrooks entered the Longworth building at 7:43 a.m. and walked through a magnetometer while his backpack went through an X-ray screening machine. Before an officer noticed the X-ray image of the handgun, the affidavit says, Allsbrooks had “collected his belongings” and proceeded into the building.

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       The building was put “on a stay in place lockdown” while officers “began to canvass the immediate area” looking for him, the affidavit says. Police said they located him 12 minutes later as he was walking back toward the screening area.

       The chief administrative office has about 700 employees who provide support and oversee day-to-day operations for House members, in areas including payroll, office furniture and technical support.