A former Syracuse mayoral candidate accused of bringing a loaded gun into the Frederick Douglass Rochester International Airport called Tuesday’s incident an honest mistake.
Authorities said Alfonso Davis, 56, had the weapon concealed in his arm sling, when it was detected at the security checkpoint.
Davis said he just had shoulder surgery and was on medication that may have influenced his thought process when he seemingly forgot about the gun he placed in his sling.
“I never had any ill will, ill intent to sneak a firearm, and that is not my character,” Davis said. “I would never try to sneak a firearm.”
Davis was trying to board a flight out of Rochester for a business trip Tuesday. Wednesday, he was in Monroe County Court after being charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
The Transportation Security Administration worker who found the gun wrote in a statement.
The male struggled with the buckles, so I assisted in unbuckling them and he handed me the sling. I noticed right away that it was heavier than it ought to have been I looked into the sling and immediately saw he had a black handgun.
Davis ran for mayor of Syracuse in 2016 and recently ran for Common Council there. His attorney said Davis lives with his wife — a Syracuse City Court judge — and three children. He said Tuesday was the first time Davis had ever been arrested.
Davis told 13WHAM he’s licensed to carry a gun.
“What person in their right mind would think that they could sneak a firearm through the airport?” Davis said. “And why would I out of all people try to sneak a firearm through the airport?”