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John Megelich (above) forgot he had the gun in his briefcase, his lawyer said. (Michael Dwyer) |
N.C. man with gun arrested at Logan
Weapon was in carry-on luggage
A businessman from North Carolina was arrested by State Police yesterday morning in Terminal E at Logan International Airport after screeners discovered a loaded .38-caliber handgun in his carry-on luggage.
"He simply, completely forgot that it was there" in his briefcase, Sanford Furman, the attorney for 53-year-old John C. Megelich of Charlotte, said in court. "There was no intention to bring it to Massachusetts. There was no intention to bring it on the airplane."
Phillip D. Orlandella, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, said the case helped show that security at the airport is effective. "If you are dumb enough to take a gun in your carry-on," Orlandella said, "we're smart enough to find it."
Furman said Megelich and his wife were preparing to visit their son and other relatives in Massachusetts. Furman said that as he prepared to depart his Charlotte home, Megelich put the gun inside his briefcase with the intent of putting it into his gun safe inside his home.
They drove to Massachusetts. But when they arrived, Megelich forgot about the gun until he tried to board a flight to Detroit, according to a State Police report filed in East Boston Municipal Court. Furman said Megelich was heading to a business meeting. The gun is a .380 Colt Mark VI/Series 80 firearm, according to a police report. Prosecutors said the weapon was fully loaded, with five rounds.
According to the report, Trooper Peter Robdau asked Megelich at the airport whether he had a permit to carry the firearm. "He stated that he did not," Robdau wrote in his report. "The weapon was only allowed to stay inside his home in North Carolina."
Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Wayne Margolis asked for $25,000 cash bail, but Judge Paul Mahoney took Furman's suggestion and set bail at $2,500 cash. Megelich and his wife posted bail, and he was released.
Megelich, who listed Siemens-UGS as his employer, declined comment as he and his wife walked out of the courthouse. He is due back in court Aug. 29.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
