AIRPORT SECURITY Loaded gun in man's backpack leads to arrest

COLUMBUS (AP) -- A man with a loaded gun in his backpack was arrested when he tried to pass through a security checkpoint Wednesday at Port Columbus International Airport.
A Transportation Security Administration scanner noticed the gun around 9 a.m. in the bag carried by Ron Villanueva, 38, of Belpre, who was on his way to board a flight to Detroit, authorities said.
Security officers found a 9 mm handgun with eight rounds in the clip when they opened the backpack. The checkpoint was shut down for eight minutes while Villanueva was taken into custody by airport police. The flight departed Columbus on time.
Villanueva was interviewed by FBI agents and then charged with a federal felony count of carrying a loaded gun inside an airport, said Tom Rice, federal director of security for the airport. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Villanueva had a hearing Wednesday before a federal magistrate and was released on his own recognizance.
"He said he was target practicing and he forgot to take the gun out of his backpack," Rice said. "He had three weapons, and he failed to take one out of his backpack."
Rice said Villanueva could also face a civil sanction by the Department of Transportation and Security Administration. The episode remains under investigation.