Gun, ammo undetected in carry-on at airports

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Security agents at several airports did not detect a loaded semiautomatic pistol or six rounds of ammunition carried aboard flights in recent separate incidents.

Donald Barnes, 34, was arrested Friday in Montego Bay, Jamaica, as he prepared to board an Air Jamaica flight for his return to Atlanta.

An X-ray of his carry-on bag showed six rounds of .44-caliber Magnum ammunition in the bag, according to Jamaican National Police.

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Barnes told police he did not realize the ammunition was in his bag and that it must have been there when he went through Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport security checkpoints December 24 to board his flight to Jamaica, Cpl. Deshan Gordon, the arresting officer, said.

The Canton, Georgia, computer instructor is charged with illegal possession of ammunition and is being held pending a hearing Monday in Montego Bay.

International Total Services, the Cleveland, Ohio-based company that handles Hartsfield security checkpoints, said it was unaware of a possible security lapse.

In another incident Friday, Barry Brunstein, 55, was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, after carrying a loaded Beretta 9 mm semiautomatic pistol through Tampa International Airport's security checkpoint.

The Tampa-area resident boarded a Delta flight Friday morning and flew to Atlanta, where he switched planes without leaving the secure area of the airport and flew on to Memphis International Airport.

Brunstein had intended to turn around, again without leaving the secure area of the airport and take a return flight to Tampa, according to the FBI. But his plans fell apart when a random check at the departure gate in Memphis turned up the loaded pistol in his carry-on, said Steve Anthony, a spokesman for the FBI in Memphis.

Brunstein was charged with attempting to board an aircraft with a firearm and released on $5,000 bond, Anthony said.

Brunstein said Saturday that he had put the gun in his briefcase earlier and forgotten about it.

Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Janis Logue declined to comment on Brunstein's arrest.

"I don't have any information to share on this because it is related to a security matter," Logue said.

Tampa Airport Police Lt. Robert Dixon said the department was investigating the incident. Dixon said he found out about Brunstein's apparent breach of security from a news agency.

"We didn't know a thing," Dixon said.