Three men were arrested in three separate incidents Thursday and a fourth man was taken into custody Friday for allegedly bringing weapons through security at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Needless to say, all four men missed their flights.
"Over a 29-hour period, we had four firearms that were discovered at checkpoints here in Atlanta," TSA spokesman Jonathan Allen told Channel 2 Action News.
The latest arrest came Friday morning when police arrested 38-year-old Joseph Beckford of Grayson. He was being held in the Clayton County Jail and was expected to appear in court Saturday.
Among those arrested Thursday was Richard Ronald Fusakio, 65, of Tennessee, a retired decorated war hero once held by Soviet Union forces as a mercenary, according to the Clayton News Daily. Police said they found a loaded .22-caliber handgun in a black carry-on bag.
Also arrested that day was Atlanta attorney, Oscar Eugene Prioleau, Jr., 47, of Fairburn. Prioleau specializes in labor and employment law in downtown Atlanta. Police said he had a .9-mm handgun in his bag.
On Thursday night, Damian Shaw, 39, of Atlanta, was arrested for allegedly having a .40-caliber handgun inside his backpack at the security checkpoint.
The three men arrested Thursday had first appearances in a Clayton County courtroom Friday. Each was assigned a $5,000 bond and could face a civil penalty from the TSA.
Civil penalties for carrying a firearm at an airport can range from $3,000 to $7,500 for a loaded weapon and $1,500 to $3,000 for an unloaded weapon.
These are the latest in a recent string of weapons charges at Hartsfield-Jackson.
In June, former Clayton County John Turner prosecutor was arrested after he said he forgot to remove a small handgun from a "fanny pack" he was wearing when he went to check in for a flight.
In July, two Georgians were arrested within a 20-minute period at the airport for allegedly carrying guns.
In August, Mickey "Memphitz" Wright, who costars with wife Toya Carter in BET's "Toya: A Family Affair," was charged with carrying a gun in his carry-on bag into Hartsfield-Jackson.
Wright told a judge, "I just wanted to say to you that I would never intentionally take a firearm to the airport. I just forgot that it was in my backpack."
Transportation Security Administration spokesman Jon Allen said the TSA averages two gun confiscations a day across the country. Local airport officials told Channel 2 they've found 50 guns since January.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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