Perot's Son Acquitted Of Gun Charge In Airport Incident

BURIEN - H. Ross Perot Jr. just plain forgot he had a gun with him when he tried to board a plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport last spring, a jury decided yesterday. He was acquitted in Southwest District Court of attempting to carry a concealed weapon past a security checkpoint, a misdemeanor charge.

Perot, son of the Texas billionaire and presidential aspirant, was cited May 28 when he tried to board a plane from Seattle to Dallas. He was returning home after a business trip to Philadelphia and Seattle.

David Allen, his Seattle attorney, said Perot had put the gun in a bag in Dallas, along with a cellular phone and some other items, intending to take it home from his office.

On the first leg of his trip, Perot flew aboard a private plane. From Philadelphia to Seattle, he traveled on a commercial flight, but the gun passed through security undetected.

Judge Richard Thompson told the jury Perot could be acquitted if it found he didn't know he had the gun.

Perot is a former Air Force pilot with licenses to fly helicopters and commercial aircraft.