Wayne Smith, who flew into the Cyril E. King Airport with a pistol in his luggage, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of causing a firearm to be present in a federal facility, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said in a news release.
Sentencing has been scheduled for Oct. 29.
According to court documents filed in the case, on March 21 Smith was a ticketed airline passenger to St. Thomas. His checked luggage contained a Ruger LCP pistol and magazine, without notifying the airline or the Transportation Safety Administration that the luggage contained a firearm. The TSA subsequently discovered the firearm at the federal security checkpoint.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Sleeper.