Security at Pittsburgh court building fails to detect woman’s loaded handgun
Pittsburgh PA May 1 2019 Authorities are investigating how a loaded handgun in a woman’s purse got past security Tuesday afternoon at Pittsburgh Municipal Court’s main entrance.
Allegheny County’s top court administrator said Tuesday evening that the private security guard who was manning the magnetometer when the woman made it through security unchallenged will not be back.
“It’s my understanding that he will not be at that facility at the future,” Court Administrator Linda Kelly said.
Ms. Kelly confirmed that she had been in contact with “other entities” about security at the building following the arrest of Tiffany Towns, 36, of the North Side. She declined to say which ones.
“We’re always concerned with security in the courts,” Ms. Kelly said. “I think it’s going to be addressed.”
The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office provides courtroom security in the often-bustling Downtown facility, which is open 24 hours a day and is home to several courts and the Pittsburgh police warrant office. It also houses staff who assist people seeking restraining orders.
AM-GARD, a private company, has the contract — approved by the county and overseen by court administration — to handle security at the front door. Visitors must pass through a manned metal detector while their bags are scanned by a magnetometer.
Ms. Towns was seeking a protection-from-abuse order when she walked into the building on First Avenue. She apparently put her purse on the magnetometer’s conveyor belt, but the loaded 9-mm handgun inside — for which Ms. Towns had a valid concealed carry permit — was not detected.
As Ms. Towns waited in the lobby to receive her restraining order, Tina Quinlan, an arraignment court clerk, noticed that Ms. Towns had an active warrant on a retail theft charge from last year. She notified sheriff’s Deputy Mark Schmidt, who took Ms. Towns into custody at 2:35 p.m.
During a pat-down, Ms. Towns told sheriff’s Sgt. David Lynch that she had a weapon in her purse. It turned out to be a Glock with an ammunition clip containing 14 live rounds.
Guards told sheriff’s deputies that the firearm “could not be viewed when passing through the X-ray scanner,” according to a release from the sheriff’s office.
Kenneth Felton, identified in a criminal complaint as the AM-GARD security officer on duty, told a sergeant with the sheriff’s office that “he ran her purse through the magnetometer and did not notice there was a weapon in her purse,” according to the criminal complaint against Ms. Towns.
Sgt. Lynch, however, “was able to view the screen on the magnetometer and saw the gun in the purse,” the complaint said.
No one from AM-GARD was available to comment.
Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Kevin Kraus said it was the first time in his five years with the department that someone had gotten through security with a weapon.
The sheriff’s office has moved to revoke Ms. Towns’ concealed carry license, Chief Deputy Kraus said.
The warrant for Ms. Towns was for a retail theft charge stemming from November 2018. Pittsburgh police said she stole $449.50 in merchandise from a Walmart at The Waterworks on Freeport Road.
In addition to serving Ms. Towns on the outstanding magistrate warrant, deputies charged Ms. Towns with possession of a firearm or other weapon in a court facility. She was lodged at the Allegheny County Jail, where she awaits arraignment on the new charge.
Chief Deputy Kraus said that anyone entering the court building who realizes they have a gun should notify the security guards, who will contact sheriff’s deputies on site. They will escort the person to a secure area, where the firearm can be stored in a lockbox until the person finishes their business. Anyone who doesn’t declare a firearm and gets caught with one could face charges.
“You have a duty to declare,” Chief Deputy Kraus said.
post-gazette.com
