DETROIT – A judge on the Michigan appeals court has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for having a handgun in a carry-on bag at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
The gun was found in Judge Henry Saad's bag on Feb. 21.
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“Airport security breaches - even unintentional ones - are taken very seriously,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. ”We have consulted with officials at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and are charging Judge Saad with a misdemeanor offense consistent with others that have allegedly committed a similar offense.”
Saad pleaded guilty at his arraignment on Tuesday to the charge of possessing a firearm in a sterile area, which is a 90-day misdemeanor.
Judge Tina Greene allowed Saad to enter the plea in the court’s chambers in 34th District Court in Romulus. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office noted their disagreement with Green’s decision to not hold the proceedings on the record in open court.
The 68-year-old has been on the appeals court since 1994. Saad made news off the bench in 2013, when a watchdog group reported that he had donated about $81,000 to Republican candidates and causes in 2012.
He said he was exercising his First Amendment right.