COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — An Indiana man was arrested at O'Hare International Airport this week after TSA agents found a loaded gun in his luggage, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Brian Hardman, 47, told authorities he thought he lost the gun — and only realized it was in his bag when he saw police running toward him, according to an arrest report.
Transportation Security Administration agents found the weapon about 8 a.m. Tuesday when Hardman sent his carry-on bag through an X-ray machine, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during a bond hearing.
The agents recovered a 9mm semi-automatic gun and seven bullets, the arrest report said.
Hardman told police he hadn't seen the gun since May 2014, according to Scaduto. Hardman never reported the gun missing, she said, but he claimed he tried to get in touch with a sheriff in his home state of Indiana.
On Tuesday morning, Hardman was carrying a boarding pass for a Delta flight to Atlanta, prosecutors said.
He was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and attempting to board a plane with a gun. An arrest report said the gun wasn't registered, but Hardman said he owned it.
Cook County Judge Laura Sullivan on Wednesday ordered Hardman held in lieu of $25,000 bail.
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