A Mason County man allegedly brought a cane with a sword hidden inside it to the federal courthouse this week in Huntington.
Sidney L. Huddleston III, 68, is charged with attempted possession of a dangerous weapon in a federal court facility. U.S. Marshals filed the criminal complaint against him Tuesday.
Huddleston, of Apple Grove, was planning Tuesday to see his probation officer whose office is located inside the courthouse. When he arrived at the courthouse, he was walking with a cane, which had a silver cobra head handle, according to an affidavit written by Deputy Marshal John LaJeunesse.
After entering the courthouse, Huddleston was asked to place his possessions, including the cane, onto an X-ray machine at a security screening station.
"Screening revealed that a sword type blade of approximately 14 inches was concealed within Huddleston's cane. The blade was attached to the cobra head handle of the cane and was accessible by unscrewing the handle from the cane shaft," the affidavit states.
The cane was immediately seized by a court security officer, LaJeunesse wrote, and Huddleston was detained.
Later Tuesday, during an interview with marshals, Huddleston admitted to knowing the cane contained the blade, according to the affidavit.
Huddleston pleaded guilty in 2010 to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 78 months in prison after Mason County sheriff's deputies located 26 firearms in his residence in 2009, according to a news release from 2010 available on the U.S. Attorney's website.
Huddleston is prohibited from possessing firearms based on two felony convictions in 2003 - delivery of a controlled substance and third offense DUI. In 1976, Huddleston was convicted of possessing an unregistered firearm, according to the news release.
When his residence was searched in 2010, law enforcement officials seized 10 guns from his residence, following a routine visit to verify Huddleston's sex offender information.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.