FL Man Who Tried To Board Flight With Gun Pleads Guilty: U.S. DOJ

TAMPA, FL — A Lakeland man who tried to bring a gun onto a flight out of Tampa International Airport has pleaded guilty to multiple charges, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

Abraham Yacoub, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of violating airport security requirements and one count of attempted possession of a dangerous weapon on an aircraft.

He faces up to 10 years in federal prison on each count. He also agreed to forfeit the gun and ammunition connected with his crimes. A sentencing date hasn’t been set yet.

Yacoub was scheduled to fly to Las Vegas out of TIA on Aug. 4 of last year. When he entered the Transportation Security Administration screening line, the X-ray machine that screened his backpack and personal items showed a gun inside his bag, the DOJ said.

While TSA agents tried to find the bag containing the firearm, Yacoub took his bag from the conveyor belt and into the nearest men’s restroom. Once in the restroom, he removed the firearm from his backpack, wrapped it in toilet paper and hid it in a trash can.

Not long after this, Yacoub left the bathroom and returned to the TSA screening area, still holding his backpack, where he was met by a TSA agent.

TSA agents rescreened his backpack and questioned Yacoub, who lied, telling them that he hadn’t brought a gun into the airport, the DOJ said.

The airport terminal was evacuated, delaying numerous flights.

Officers from the Tampa International Airport Police Department responded to the screening area, questioned Yacoub and searched the restroom that he had entered.

Inside the trash can in the handicap stall, TSA agents and police officers located a black firearm partially wrapped in toilet paper with 14 9mm rounds of ammunition inside a magazine and loaded into the gun, according to the DOJ.

The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority Rules and Regulations for Tampa International Airport state that “[n]o person except those persons authorized by law may carry a firearm or concealed weapon inside the passenger terminal and sterile areas of the airport….”

The airport has clearly posted “no firearms” signs at the entry of every airport security line.