Man Charged in Airport Gun Incident Bonds Out of Jail

ATLANTA, Ga. - A man arrested for bringing a loaded gun through a security checkpoint at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport over the weekend bonded out of the Clayton County Jail on Monday night. Richard Popkin, 43, told FOX 5 the entire incident was a big mistake.

According to a police incident report, Popkin told police he travels often for business. The report also says he told officers he carries his gun not to kill anyone, but to scare them off instead.

TSA screeners found Popkin’s .22 caliber gun in a carry-on bag, and they alerted airport police. As officers unloaded the gun, it went off, and a pellet fragment from a round described as a “snake shot” grazed an Atlanta police officer’s face. The APD officer who was grazed in the incident was not hurt.

Popkin, of Kathleen, Ga., told authorities that his messenger bag, where the gun was found, was originally packed in his checked luggage. But, he says he took it out because he thought the bag would be too heavy for the airline’s limit. He says he didn’t realize the gun was inside.

Authorities say regardless of the circumstances, passengers are responsible for the contents of their luggage.

Popkin faces concealed weapons charges and hefty fines of up to $7,500. He was granted $5,000 bond, which he posted late Monday night. As he left the Clayton County Jail, Popkin told FOX 5’s Kaitlyn Pratt that the gun in question is about the size of his finger, and he uses it to shoot water moccasins in his back yard. He said the entire incident was a big mistake.

“I didn’t fire the weapon,” Popkin said. “It wasn’t me that discharged the weapon in the airport.”

Popkin will be back in court in two weeks.

The TSA said they prevent about 1,100 firearms from passing security checkpoints each year. They remind passengers that unloaded firearms are permitted in checked bags only. Anyone caught trying to carry a firearm past an airport security checkpoint could face civil penalties in addition to any local criminal charges.