Brass knuckles found in passenger’s carry-on bag at JWA

A man was allowed to board a plane from John Wayne Airport to Phoenix on Friday after authorities found brass knuckles in his carry-on bag, officials said.

About 5 a.m. Friday the man was passing through a security checkpoint when a Transportation Security Administration officer saw brass knuckles in his bag through the x-ray screener. Orange County sheriff’s deputies questioned the man, who said he had borrowed the bag from a friend and hadn’t checked it before using it, before allowing him to proceed.

The man was boarding US Airways flight No. 122 bound for Arizona.

“It’s always a good idea to look through a bag before you bring it to the airport to make sure there are no illegal or prohibited items,” said Nico Melendez, TSA spokesman in a news release.

— Joseph Serna