Appeals Judge Pleads to Trying to Take Handgun on Airplane

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI – A Michigan Appeals Court judge who was stopped last month before he could board a flight to Florida with a loaded handgun in his carry-on luggage agreed Tuesday to plead guilty to firearms charges.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Judge Henry William Saad, 68, of Bloomfield Township, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in a sterile area, a 90-day misdemeanor charge, in 34th District Court in Romulus.

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• Michigan Appeals Judge Tried to Take Loaded Gun on Airplane

Judge Tina Greene allowed Saad to enter his guilty plea to in her chambers. In the statement, Worthy’s office noted disagreement with Green’s decision to not hold the proceedings on the record in open court.

On Monday, Worthy said in a statement that “airport security breaches — even unintentional ones — are taken very seriously.”

Saad was stopped by Detroit Metropolitan Airport security on Feb. 21 when the loaded revolver was discovered in his carry-on luggage. He detained briefly, but allowed to board the flight for Fort Myers, FL.

The prosecutor’s office didn’t say when Saad will be sentenced.

Saad’s status with the Appeals Court hasn’t changed, State Administrative Office spokesman John Nevin told the newspaper. Saad was appointed to the Appeals Court bench in 1994, and served as chief judge from 2008-2009, according to the court’s website. His current term expires in 2021.