Gun found in airport bag

Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2001 | 9:02 a.m.

A California man arrested at McCarran International Airport Monday after trying to pass through a security checkpoint with a gun told authorities he forgot the small handgun was in his luggage, according to Metro Police.

John Charles Goodell, 50, was arrested at the D Gate checkpoint about 7:50 p.m., when security screeners detected a .25 caliber Derringer-style gun inside a leather case, police said.

Goodell, a resident of Pismo Beach, Calif., would have carried the weapon onto a flight bound for Los Angeles, police said. He was booked into the Clark County jail.

"When it comes to (carrying a concealed weapon), intent is not an issue," Metro Lt. Ted Moody said today. "He said he just forgot he had it. This was his first offense, so it is a gross misdemeanor."

Goodell produced a concealed weapons permit for a different weapon. But the document was issued in California and would not have been valid in Nevada, Moody said.

State law makes it a misdemeanor for someone with a concealed weapons permit to carry a concealed weapon into a public building on the property of a public airport.