FLINT, Michigan -- A federal magistrate judge told Flint's interim police chief Tuesday to keep his guns at home.

Chief David Dicks, appearing in U.S. District Court to plead not guilty to a fraud charge Tuesday, was also ordered not to carry weapons while he is free on bond.



"He is on administrative leave (from his job and) not required to carry a firearm," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Abraham, who argued for the restriction. "I see no reason Mr. Dicks should be any different than any other defendant before the court."



Judges typically restrict the right to carry a firearm as a condition of bond, federal officials said, and in the case of Dicks, the interim Flint chief is no longer acting as a police officer and does not have a concealed weapons permit.



Other conditions of Dicks' bond remained unchanged Tuesday during his arraignment on the charge of obtaining federal work force development funds by fraud.



He faces up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if found guilty.



Dicks' attorney Frank Manley argued Tuesday against stripping his client of the right to carry a weapon, saying Dicks has been threatened in the past and lives in a violent city.



The chief's own son was killed in a 2008 shooting.



"It just boils down to personal safety," Manley said.



Dicks is allowed to keep guns in his own home, Magistrate Judge Michael Hluchaniuk said.



A grand jury indicted Dicks on the federal charge he is facing last month, and he has been on administrative leave from his job as interim police chief since federal prosecutors filed a related criminal complaint against him a week earlier.



Prosecutors allege Dicks collected federal funds for security work for City Security, a private company headed by his father, while he was on the clock for the Flint Police Department or attending college classes.



City Security was a long-term contractor for Career Alliance Inc., which has been the subject of a grand jury probe.



The company is overseen by Dicks' father, Richard, who also oversees the city's police and fire departments as super chief.