Delaware state senator charged with felony after gun found in airport carry-on

Esteban Parra | The News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption State Senator misses flight when gun found in carry-on State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn missed his flight Thursday after TSA found his handgun in his carry-on.

State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn has been charged with having a firearm on an aircraft, a felony, according to the Wicomico County, Maryland, Sheriff's Office.

Pettyjohn, a 43-year-old Republican from Georgetown, could not be reached for comment on Friday. His attorney, Bruce Rogers, said they had not seen the charging documents.

"Brian is out of state on business, on travel and hasn't seen anything," Rogers said. "We imagine that when he gets back we'll find out what's going on."

Pettyjohn was at Salisbury, Maryland, Regional Airport Thursday when a TSA agent found a loaded handgun in Pettyjohn's carry-on bag. Lisa Farbstein, a TSA spokeswoman, confirmed a loaded handgun was discovered at the airport when a carry-on bag went through a checkpoint X-ray machine.

Pettyjohn was headed to the Southern Regional Education Board conference in New Orleans on an early flight and in his rush to pack forgot to properly stow his 9mm handgun, he said on Thursday.

The gun was not taken onto the plane.

"It's just one of those things where I didn't check that one little flap, and there it was," Pettyjohn told The News Journal on Thursday. "Sometimes mistakes happen, whether you're a legislator or not."

TSA workers confiscated the handgun and questioned him about why he had it with him, Pettyjohn said.

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Pettyjohn has a license to carry a concealed weapon in Delaware, but not in Maryland.

After the shooting of Republican Congressional legislators and their aides at a northern Virginia baseball field on June 14, Pettyjohn said security is top of mind.

"Personal protection of myself and my family is of the utmost importance," he said.

The charge is a felony that carries a maximum of up to 10 years in prison, according to the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office.

Rogers said the charge seemed to be "little excessive" for an honest mistake.

"Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and we'll try to find out what they're after here," he said. "There is certainly nothing which rises to the level of a felony carrying a firearm to an airplane."

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.