Woman fined for having weapons at airport

TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN - A Georgia woman caught with a small knife and a box cutter at Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, michigan was fined but avoided jail time after entering a guilty plea to a misdemeanor of possessing a weapon in a sterile airport area. <br> <br> Alice Voils was ordered Tuesday to pay a $100 fine and $200 in court costs. <br> <br> Security officers discovered the 35-year-old Senoia, Georgia resident carrying the knife, box cutter and a rock as she prepared to board a flight. She was heading home to Georgia after a brief visit to Traverse City. <br> <br> Voils originally was charged with a felony under a new Michigan anti-terrorism law punishable by ten years in prison. But prosecutors offered a plea bargain to the misdemeanor, which carries a maximum one-year sentence, after determining she was not a security threat. <br> <br> Voils told District Judge Michael Haley, ``I&#39;m really ashamed, and I&#39;m really sorry.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> She said she was unaware that airports had tightened security after September 11. <br> <br> Defense attorney Wilson Brott said Voils was an inexperienced traveler who came to Traverse City to meet a friend. She had passed through the airport&#39;s main security checkpoint but was arrested following a second, random check. <br> <br> Voils said she also had carried the items while passing through security at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport the previous day.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/6/202082