David Finn Defends Gun Violation

65-year-old Woman Says She Forgot About Gun Before Taking it on Plane

A 65-year-old Little Elm woman was arrested Wednesday morning after carrying a revolver aboard a plane at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Transportation Security Administration officials notified police about 6 a.m. that the woman had grabbed her belongings off a checkpoint conveyor belt and walked away before TSA agents spotted the .38-caliber handgun.

Judith Kenney’s lawyer, David Finn, said she had simply forgotten the gun was in her computer bag.

An attorney herself, based in Addison, Kenney regularly carried the weapon for protection, Finn said. She had been working late hours lately and let her concealed handgun license expire several weeks ago, Finn said.

Kenney boarded her American Airlines flight to Houston on Wednesday, Finn said, oblivious that police officers were sweeping the entire airport for her.

About 8 a.m., officers learned which plane Kenney was on, ordered it back to its gate and took her into custody.

She called her lawyer crying, Finn said, “mortified, apologetic and contrite” for the trouble she caused. Ten flights were delayed up to half an hour during the incident, according to airport officials.

Kenney bonded out of jail the same day and expects to face a third-degree felony firearms charge. Finn said he hopes to persuade a grand jury to drop it.

“She’s not a criminal, not a terrorist,” the lawyer said. “It was an honest mistake.”

Original story posted at The The Dallas Morning News
By AVI SELK and MATT PETERSON
Staff Writers
Published: 18 January 2012 10:14 PM: