MANCHESTER -- An off-duty police officer from Phoenix tried to bring a trigger system for a rifle through a security checkpoint at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

A Florida resident brought a pellet gun through the checkpoint and claimed it wasn’t real. His immigration status also was checked after an officer sensed “signs of deception.”

And an Enfield man came through a security checkpoint with a loaded handgun.

All three people were among six incidents last year in which people tried to bring a gun, ammunition and/or prohibited firearms-related items through the checkpoints in Manchester, according to police reports provided through a request under the state’s right-to-know law.

No one was charged criminally, and most were allowed to return items to their vehicles or leave for family to pick up.

“The vast majority of these cases are simply passenger oversight and not criminal or malicious intent,” Londonderry police Capt. Patrick Cheetham said this week.

More than 926,000 fliers boarded commercial planes at the airport in 2018.

The Transportation Security Administration, which oversees airport checkpoints, has the authority to assess civil penalties of up to $13,333 for weapons violations, according to TSA spokesperson Lauren Sundquist.

“A typical first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint is $4,000,” she said.

TSA doesn’t release the names of those fined. TSA said it also doesn’t track the percentage of people arrested for bringing a firearm to the checkpoint.

Nationally, 4,239 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints in 2018, averaging about 11.6 firearms per day, according to TSA. That was about 7 percent higher in 2017.

In Manchester, TSA said it discovered four guns in carry-on bags at airport checkpoints in 2018, one more than found the year before.

“When a TSA officer detects a firearm in a carry-on bag, they immediately notify local law enforcement,” said TSA’s Lundquist. “At this point, local law enforcement makes a determination on whether the passenger will be cited or arrested, based on local or state laws, and if the passenger can continue travel.”

An arrest, Cheetham said, is likely if “someone is willfully attempting to conceal a firearm to bring on an aircraft.”

Travelers are urged to check tsa.gov for a list of prohibited items.

“Firearms can be checked (in checked baggage) but with certain instructions,” he said.

Here’s a summary of the six cases:

--On June 16, 2018, Ashley Gagnon, an off-duty police officer from Phoenix, was stopped with a bolt carrier for an AR-style rifle and a new trigger system for a rifle, according to the Londonderry Police report. The items, still in their packages, were bought at Shooters Outpost and Riley’s Sport Shop, both in Hooksett.

The Phoenix officer “did not know the items could not fly with him,” said the police report. Gagnon left the items at the police department’s communications center at the airport for parents to pick up the items.

An email sent to public information officials with the Phoenix police seeking comment wasn’t answered.

--On Dec. 6, 2018, Pedro Silva of Orlando, Fla., brought “what appeared to be a firearm” in his carry-on bag. Silva stated the gun was not real, but police determined it to be a pellet gun. Silva said he was bringing it home to his grandson.

The officer cited “a language barrier,” and a TSA agent helped translate. The officer saw two phones in his travel bag.

Silva told the officer the phones didn’t work and “it was my opinion that Silva displayed signs of deception,” the officer wrote in his report.

The officer asked dispatch to perform a warrant check and called the on-duty immigration officer to conduct a status check. There were no open warrants, and immigration said Silva was a legal U.S. resident.

Silva was allowed to leave without the pellet gun.

“The policy of the Londonderry Police Department is to not unduly detain anyone absent a criminal arrest warrant,” Cheetham said.

--On Sept. 24, 2018, Paul Deranian of Exeter brought a semi-automatic Sig Sauer handgun. Deranian said he forgot the firearm was in his bag and it was a mistake to bring it to the airport. After police checked to see if Deranian or the handgun were wanted by law enforcement, an officer escorted Deranian outside the terminal, so he could bring the handgun to his vehicle while he traveled.

--On March 27, 2018, Rip Michael Kirby of Point Harbor, N.C., was stopped for having several prohibited items: 42 rounds of ammunition, two small folding knives and one other knife.

Kirby told police he had driven from North Carolina to New Hampshire to visit his sick father. He also said he shoots on property he owns in North Carolina and didn’t realize the items were in his bag.

An officer said he found “his story to be reasonable and Mr. Kirby’s account credible.” The items were turned over to TSA, which typically sells or discards items.

--On June 26, 2018, Arnold Hugtalen of Henniker brought “two components of two firearms” through the checkpoint. The officer said they were “two upper receivers or ‘slides’ to Sig Sauer pistols.”

Hugtalen said he forgot to remove the parts from a backpack he was using. After a background check, Huftalen secured the items in his vehicle prior to flying.

--On Nov. 2, 2018, Stephen Lary of Enfield brought a firearm in a brown briefcase. The officer said “the weapon did not have a round in the chamber but it did have a loaded magazine in the well.”

Police ordered checks on Lary and his firearm and turned up no wants or warrants. Police walked Lary out to the parking lot where the officer gave Lary the firearm to put in his vehicle.

Said Cheetham: “I would say it was a loaded firearm without a round chambered.”

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©2019 The New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.)

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