A Montana man suspected of trying to take four loaded handguns onto a flight at Sacramento International Airport last week made his first appearance Monday in federal court in Sacramento.
Harold Edward Waller, 45, is charged with carrying a concealed dangerous weapon that would have been accessible to him in flight onto an aircraft. The federal felony is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
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Waller was "surprisingly matter-of-fact" when confronted, Ramos said.
Waller told investigators he had decided to travel to Alaska for a few days, Di Roma said in his statement. He said he knew he had guns and was carrying them onto a plane but "disclaimed any intent to harm anyone," the special agent wrote.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Waller's mother said the 45-year-old divorced father of two is suffering from mental illness.
"I don't understand it. Nobody who was thinking properly would do what he did," Helen Waller told AP. She said her son was driven from the family farm near Circle, Mont., and to Sacramento for treatment of depression several weeks ago.
Waller sought treatment at a Sacramento clinic that specializes in detoxification because he discovered that he is allergic to the anti-depression medication prescribed to him, she told AP. He also visited a nutritionist, his mother said.
