Charges for 2 for airport gun

Two men who tried to smuggle an unloaded 9 mm Smith & Wesson semiautomatic handgun onto a US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Phoenix on June 4 were formally charged yesterday by U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy.

The men - Roshid Milledge, 38, of Philadelphia, a customer-service rep for the airline, and Damien Young, 29, of Phoenix - were each charged with one count of boarding an aircraft while carrying a concealed dangerous weapon.

Authorities said that Young carried a laptop-style bag through security on June 4, then met Milledge at the customer service counter where Milledge gave him a similar looking bag, which contained the gun.

A passenger suspicious of the bag switch later alerted airline security.

Young, who was Milledge's roommate, was moving to Phoenix to take a new job and wanted to take the gun with him but did not intend to take it out during the flight, authorities said.

After their arrests, Young and Milledge were released on $50,000 and $10,000 unsecured bail, respectively, by a U.S. Magistrate on June 5.

Young's attorney said yesterday that the gun was registered to Young, that he had a valid Pennsylvania permit to carry it and did not have a prior criminal record. *