GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Feb. 17, 2014) – A man from Sparta was arrested after attempting to pass through security with a loaded handgun at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport.
An airport spokesperson confirmed that the incident happened early Monday morning when the man attempted to go through the security checkpoint to board a flight with his wife and two children.
Jason Todd Emanouil, 39, a Sparta business owner, had a loaded Ruger 380 in his carry-on baggage, the spokesperson said. A TSA officer immediately spotted the gun. While being questioned by the TSA officer, the man told authorities he has a concealed pistol license and had planned to lock the weapon in the safe, but forgot.
He was arrested for carrying a firearm in a sterile area of an airport, which is a misdemeanor. Emanouil was transported to the Kent County Jail. Arresting a person with a weapon on airport grounds is standard operating procedure, said the spokesperson. The man was very cooperative.
The weapons arrest is the airport’s first in 2014. There was one arrest in 2013 and another in 2012. The airport said there were three incidents in 2011 as well as 2010.
