Walk through the Blair County Courthouse door and expect to empty your pockets and walk through security. That’s what one lawyer did, except he also tried to bring a gun with him.

 

“I’ve been a police officer and carrying a gun for over 40 years, and I can never remember a time that I didn’t know where my gun was,” said Blair County Sheriff Mitchell Cooper

 

Sheriff’s deputies stopped Philadelphia area lawyer Donald Feinberg the morning of April 21st when one deputy noticed a weapon in his briefcase on the x-ray screen. 

 

“He had ample opportunity to let the deputies know that there was a handgun in that brief case,” Cooper said.

 

“It is unusual and it’s probably a first,” said Commissioner Terry Tomassetti. “There’s no problem with you disclosing that you have a weapon as long as you have a permit to carry, and have it stored. That happens all the time.”

 

Feinberg does have a permit to carry, as well as a concealed carry permit, but he wasn’t planning on leaving his loaded, .25 caliber handgun at the door. 

 

“We have more than 300,000 people who enter this courthouse on a yearly basis,” Cooper said. “The last thing we want is a handgun getting into this courthouse without us knowing it.”

 

The deputy asked Feinberg twice if he had a gun, and both times Feinberg denied it.  He then reached for his briefcase.  That’s when the deputy opened it up and found both the gun and a small amount of marijuana.

 

Tomassetti said he heard the lawyer planned to distribute that marijuana.

 

“There’s a lot of emotion that goes on inside these big stone walls,” Tomassetti said.
So it’s essential, particularly nowadays, to have proper security in place to protect those who are going in.”

 

It’s state law that weapons of any kind are not permitted in courthouses.  Sheriff Cooper said all weapons are confiscated and held for the person during their time in the courthouse. They can easily retrieve their items on the way out.

 

“We need the strict enforcement and protections that we have in place now,” Tomassetti said.

 

Feinberg is facing criminal charges. If he is convicted, he will be reviewed and could be disbarred.