9 Investigates lack of punishment for gun possession in Sanford Airport

SANFORD, Fla. — 9 Investigates learned that Transportation Safety Administration agents caught a man with a loaded gun going through Sanford's airport, but instead of going to jail, the gun's owner got special treatment.

Channel 9's Karla Ray learned that it isn't the first time that has happened.

Ray learned that the Sanford Airport's CEO is holding onto the gun so he can give it back to the passenger.

The incident report from inside the airport shows that officials didn't believe that the man posed a threat. It said he had a concealed weapons permit and claimed that he forgot that the gun was in his bag.

Ray found that at most other airports, the man would have been arrested.

According to the report, the gun had a bullet in the chamber when it was confiscated on Christmas Eve. Rather than taking a trip to jail, the gun's owner was able to make his flight.

"That's kind of disturbing. How does TSA allow that to happen?" air traveler Jess Shaw asked.

Ray learned that it wasn't TSA's decision but the Sanford Airport Police Department who has the final say on arrests. In this incident, the responding officer, Larry Dale, is also the airport's CEO.

Ray learned that after that gun was found at the TSA screening point, Dale, acting in his capacity as a police officer, reportedly berated the agent who found the weapon, and then offered to hold onto it for safekeeping in his own office at the airport.

"The airport needs to be doing a better job. If anybody has any kind of arms, whether they have a permit or it's concealed, they really need to turn it in," traveler Nipul Shah said.

Ray learned that it was the fifth gun caught by screeners at the Sanford Airport this year, and not one incident has resulted in an arrest.

By comparison, 44 guns were caught at Orlando International Airport, and only four people involved walked away without charges.

Neither Dale nor the department's police chief, Thomas Fuehrer, would agree to an interview with Ray for the story. Fuehrer did show up to force Ray and her photographer out of a public area at the airport.

"Stuff like that doesn't teach children or adults that there are rules in place for people's safety," Shaw said.

In a statement released later, Dale said, "The incident was fully and properly investigated, and the passenger, who possessed both a valid and current Florida driver's license and concealed weapons permit, was cleared without incident."

WFTV