Published: March 22, 2008 01:52 am            

Man on trial gets caught with weapon

It's really hard these days to surprise law enforcement officers who've been on the job any length of time.

But Wednesday, a man who was going to Lauderdale County Circuit Court for his own trial for the sale of illegal narcotics, was stopped in his tracks by deputies of the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department who man the ground floor and who are in charge of security for the entire building.

"The metal detector went off and when they inspected the cane, they found this long knife," said LCSD Chief Deputy Ward Calhoun. "The man, Relious Darnell Densmore, was allowed to continue upstairs to his trial and we kept the cane and knife."

Calhoun said Densmore, 31, of Armetta Hood Road, was allowed to go back up so as not to disrupt his trial proceedings.

ursday Densmore

was found guilty for the sale of the narcotics.

"We had several pairs of eyes on him because while he was in the trial, we discovered he was a convicted felon," Calhoun said. "We then prepared a warrant for his arrest as soon as the trial was completed."

When the jury retired to consider his guilt or innocence, Calhoun said Densmore, who was out on bond for the sale offenses, attempted to leave the courtroom. He was promptly arrested and charged on the possession of a weapon charge.

Calhoun said there is no way of knowing if Densmore was contemplating using the two-bladed knife to harm anyone. But the fact the knife was found long before he was able to reach the courtroom Calhoun said was an example of how effective the deputies are in keeping everyone safe inside the court house.

"We have a lot of emotional trials here," Calhoun pointed out. "Some are custody cases involving children, trials that carry the death penalty and everything in between. These deputies did a fine job in staying alert and focused."

Densmore's sentencing will be next week and he could get as many as 60 years in prison. He is being held in the Lauderdale County Adult Detention Facility without bond.

        

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