Northeast News
December 30, 2011

Kansas City resident Anthony Winn tried to sneak a loaded handgun past security at the Kansas City International Airport (KCI), but screeners soon caught the handgun tucked away in his carry-on luggage.

The 26-year-old was charged in federal court Dec. 29 in a two-count complaint filed by the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo. Winn has been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed handgun in his carry-on luggage while attempting to board a plane. Winn is currently in federal custody, pending a Jan. 3 detention hearing.

According to the affidavit, an x-ray machine operator at the Delta terminal saw Winn place his carry-on bag on the x-ray belt to be examined by Firstline Security screeners on Wednesday morning, Dec. 28, 2011. While viewing the contents on the monitor, the operator noticed an image that resembled a loaded firearm.

Officers with the Kansas City International Airport Police inspected Winn’s bag and found a loaded Glock 9mm handgun with 22 live rounds of ammunition in the 31-round capacity magazine and one live round of ammunition in the chamber.

Kansas City Police Department officers later found more than $26,000 stuffed into various pockets of three pairs of men’s jeans inside the carry-on bag. Following Winn’s arrest, officers searched Winn and removed $4,906 from his pants pocket, along with one-way boarding passes from Kansas City, Mo., to Minneapolis, Minn., then to Tuscon, Ariz.

According to federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Winn holds two prior felony convictions for burglary and a prior felony conviction for unlawful use of a weapon.

Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, cautioned that the charges contained in the complaint are accusations and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.