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Man sentenced for sneaking gun onto plane

By Nathan Gorenstein

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Damien Young was on his way to a new job in Phoenix and wanted to make the flight with his 9mm pistol. But he tried to side-step the rules, and today paid for it in federal court.

Young, 29, who has since lost the job as a health care business analyst, was ordered to serve eight weekends in a halfway house and spend five years on probation.

"It was a serious error of judgment," done to avoid the bothersome requirements to legally transport a weapon, said Catherine Henry, senior litigator with the federal public defender's office.

U.S. District Court Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg said Young deserved more than probation, an outcome sought by Henry.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephan A. Miller said Young was a victim of his own "bad judgment" and laziness, and asked for a period of incarceration. Still, there "was much to commend" a probationary sentence for Young, who did not have a criminal record at the time, he added.

On June 4, Young tried to sneak the handgun aboard a U.S. Airways flight with the help of a friend, Roshid Milledge, a U.S. Airways customer-service representative, according to court documents. Milledge, who was Young's roommate before the move, allegedly smuggled the handgun into Philadelphia International Airport through an employee entrance. Young then met Milledge at the customer-service counter, where Young took the bag containing the gun.

The two, however, were seen by a passenger who alerted authorities. The jet was stopped on the runway and police and airline officials ordered Young to take his two pieces of carry-on luggage and leave the airplane.

Milledge's case is pending.

To transport a gun by plane, it must be carried in checked baggage, locked inside a hard case, and a declaration form must be filed out.

Young, who has completed his move to Arizona, said he is still in the market for a job.

Contact staff writer Nathan Gorenstein 1t 215-854-2797 or ngorenstein@phillynews.com.

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Comments

Posted 05:15 PM, 10/26/2009

FishtownYo

Sad to see someone lose their job because of a stupid mistake like this. Only politicians, cops and teachers should lose jobs when convicted of a crime.

Posted 06:07 PM, 10/26/2009

Echo

It didn't say he lost the job because of this. But would you want someone dumb enough to do this working for you?

Posted 06:13 PM, 10/26/2009

DonQ

I have transported firearms in airlines several times. The rules vary from airline to airline, but it's certainly a lot better to do things the right way than to break the law. I don't believe this individual's sob tale. He deserves what he got. Some people truly believe themselves above the law, and getting a wake-up call like this does them a favor. What's so hard about buying a $30 gun case, making a couple of phone calls and filling a form?

Posted 06:15 PM, 10/26/2009

Sluggo

Glad to see the idiot lose his job over this. I hope that Milledge gets fired too. There was nothing preventing Young from hijacking the plane with his smuggled weapon. The person who reported the perps should receive an award.

Posted 06:27 PM, 10/26/2009

brian stewart

DOUBLE STANDARD

Posted 06:28 PM, 10/26/2009

nittany4

Didn't Barry Switzer do this? Maybe Jerry Jones will hire him.

Posted 06:39 PM, 10/26/2009

Tatts

"Sad to see someone lose their job because of a stupid mistake like this." It was NOT A MISTAKE, FishtownYo! He did it on purpose. He knew it was illegal, that's why he got his friend to smuggle it past security for him! And it would have been easy enough to do it the right way--locked in checked luggage and declared. Piece of cake. But nooooo. Jeez. Get a dose of reality, Fishtown.

Posted 07:06 PM, 10/26/2009

Taxpaying Voter

..."was ordered to serve eight weekends in a halfway house and spend five years on probation." This right here is whats wrong with the justice system and we should hold politicians who appoint these judges accountable and or vote out the judges at election time.

Posted 12:00 AM, 10/27/2009

donnybrook

fishtownyo's comment is so silly that i thought it was a joke at first. maybe it was...? why would people with certain jobs be subject to firing and others not? everybody should be. it's called accountability, and everyone's got it!