Charges dropped against Indiana man in gun incident at Pittsburgh airport | State

It was not an intentional act.

He had no intention of breaking the law…

This was stated by attorney Robert G. DelGreco Jr. of Pittsburgh on behalf of his client Bryan Howard Force, 43, of Indiana, as an Allegheny County justice of the peace agreed to drop charges related to an April 4 incident at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Allegheny County police said Force was caught with a .40-caliber handgun loaded with five bullets. The Transportation Security Administration said he did not have a valid permit to carry the weapon.

At a preliminary hearing Monday before Pittsburgh West End District Magistrate Judge Randy C. Martini, charges of first-degree misdemeanor related to prohibited carrying of a firearm without a permit were dismissed.

Delgreco of the Pittsburgh law firm Dickie McCamey & Chilcote accompanied Force to his hearing.

“They agreed to drop the charges,” DelGreco said after consulting with representatives of the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office.

DelGreco described his client as “a contributing member and pillar of the Indiana community” who had no criminal record and said Force “would have been eligible for a permit but did not take the time to get one.”

County police said the firearm was confiscated and the FBI was notified.

“There has been a spike in cases like this, and that’s what’s worrying the police,” DelGreco noted. “These are the people they’re interested in.”

According to the TSA, passengers are only allowed to carry firearms in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed in a locked hard-shell case. The agency said the locked case must then be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.

Force was originally scheduled to have a preliminary hearing before South Side Pittsburgh District Judge Eugene Ricciardi on May 20, but the hearing was postponed until Monday and scheduled for trial before North Hills Pittsburgh District Judge Robert Ravenstahl Jr.

The TSA could have imposed civil fines of up to $10,000 on violent offenders. Repeat offenders could be fined up to $13,910.