The Texas charge comes from Penal Code Section 46.03, the statute that lists the places where carrying a firearm remains an offense even after permitless carry, including the secured area of an airport past the screening checkpoint.¹ The firearm at the center of the case is a deadly weapon as a matter of law under the Penal Code's definitions.³ Section 46.03 is generally a third-degree felony, which carries a punishment range of two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000;⁴ where a lesser grade applies to the conduct charged, the Class A misdemeanor range of up to one year in the county jail and a fine of up to $4,000 governs instead.⁵ The grade depends on the subsection the State invokes, which is the first thing read against the statutory text.

Federal law layers on top of the state case. Title 18, United States Code, Section 930 is the federal criminal statute for possession of a firearm or other dangerous weapon in a federal facility, with separate gradations for a general federal building, for a federal court facility, and for possession with intent to commit a crime.² A federal building in downtown San Antonio and the secured area of the airport are different statutory settings, and the question on intake is whether the matter stays a state case or draws a federal charge as well.

One checkpoint or federal-building incident can produce as many as three proceedings, and they do not move together. These are the tracks a case most often turns on.

The Texas places-weapons-prohibited charge

The state charge rests on Section 46.03 and the statutory definition of the secured area of an airport, which the Penal Code ties to federal aviation rules.¹ Because the offense is defined by where the firearm was, the State has to put on evidence that the contact actually occurred inside the secured area as the statute defines it, not merely somewhere in the terminal. The handgun is a deadly weapon under the Penal Code's definitions for every purpose in the case.³

The federal facility charge

Where the setting is a federal facility, or where the U.S. Attorney's Office takes interest in an airport incident, 18 U.S.C. Section 930 supplies a separate federal criminal exposure with its own gradations.² A federal charging decision is made on a federal timeline that is independent of the state case, which is why the federal posture is mapped at intake rather than after the state matter resolves.

The TSA civil-penalty action

Separate from either criminal case, the Transportation Security Administration can assess a civil penalty for bringing a firearm to a screening checkpoint, with the published penalty schedules running into the thousands of dollars per incident and a higher figure for a loaded firearm. That civil action is referenced in the page meta as a matter under 49 U.S.C. Section 46303⁶ and runs on its own administrative track, apart from the state and federal criminal cases.

The statutory exceptions

Section 46.15 sets out the persons and circumstances to which the places-weapons-prohibited offense does not apply, including peace officers and other listed persons and the statutory carve-outs.⁷ Whether an exception fits is a fact question answered from the person's status and the circumstances, not assumed.

The case files in this area almost always belong to lawful gun owners. They are travelers who forgot a handgun was in a bag they normally carry in the truck, hunters who packed a range bag for a trip, and people who own a firearm legally and simply did not unpack it before heading to the airport. For them the surprise is being charged at all in a state that advertises permitless carry, and the deeper surprise is that the same five minutes can open a state felony exposure, a federal exposure, and a civil penalty at once.

The collateral exposure runs well past any one case. A felony weapons conviction reaches the right to possess a firearm under both Texas and federal law, affects eligibility for a License to Carry under the handgun-license program in Government Code Chapter 411,⁸ and surfaces on the background checks employers and landlords run. A noncitizen faces immigration consequences from a firearm conviction. That combined exposure is why the secured-area definition and the federal posture are examined before anything else.

On the Texas side, Section 46.03 is generally a third-degree felony, carrying two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000;⁴¹ where a lesser grade applies, the Class A misdemeanor ceiling of up to one year in the county jail and a fine of up to $4,000 governs instead.⁵ On the federal side, a conviction under 18 U.S.C. Section 930 carries its own penalties, which rise sharply where the firearm was carried with intent to commit a crime.² The TSA civil penalty under 49 U.S.C. Section 46303 is separate again and is assessed administratively rather than in either criminal court.

The three tracks do not resolve as one. A favorable result on the state case does not end the federal exposure, and neither criminal disposition ends the civil-penalty action. Whether a given matter resolves by dismissal, by a reduction, by a result that avoids a federal charge, or otherwise depends on the facts and the record across all three tracks; it is decided case by case and is never promised in advance.

A checkpoint case is built from a short list of materials: the TSA incident report, the airport police report and body-worn camera, the X-ray screen capture if it exists, and the chain of custody for the firearm. What a person says in the first hours affects all of them, and the most common mistake is explaining the situation to the officer or the screening agent at the checkpoint. Those statements are recorded and used, and an offhand answer about ownership, knowledge, or intent can hand the State or the United States the very element it needs. Because the federal track runs in parallel, what is said in the state setting can also influence a federal charging decision.

A few steps help in nearly every case. Write down, while the memory is fresh, exactly how the firearm came to be in the bag and what was said to whom at the checkpoint. Preserve the boarding pass, the bag, and any record of how it was packed. Keep all paperwork from the airport police and any TSA notice. Do not discuss the incident with anyone other than a lawyer, and do not respond to a TSA penalty notice without counsel.

This is general information about how these cases work in Texas. It is not legal advice about any specific case, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

The Texas case is the one on file first, so it sets the early rhythm even while the federal posture is being assessed. Knowing the order of events makes the process less frightening and the decision points easier to see.

Arrest and magistration

The case ordinarily begins with an arrest at the checkpoint. The person is brought before a magistrate who gives the statutory warnings and sets bond, ordinarily within 48 hours, under Article 15.17.⁹

Filing in district court

Because Section 46.03 is generally a felony, the Texas charge is filed in a Bexar County district court, the court with jurisdiction over felony cases.¹⁰¹ Filings move through the Bexar County District Clerk at the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center,¹¹ and the case is prosecuted by the Bexar County Criminal District Attorney.¹²

Pretrial settings, discovery, and the federal track

The state case proceeds through pretrial settings, and the State's evidence, the offense report, the airport police body-worn camera, the TSA incident report, and the chain of custody, is produced under the discovery statute, Article 39.14.¹³ In the same window the federal posture is monitored, because a decision by the U.S. Attorney's Office to file under 18 U.S.C. Section 930 reshapes the whole matter.²

Resolution

The state case can resolve by dismissal, by a reduction, by deferred adjudication where a person is eligible under Article 42A.102,¹⁴ or at trial, with the secured-area definition and any Section 46.15 exception driving which routes are realistic.⁷ The federal case and the TSA civil-penalty action are resolved separately on their own tracks.

This matter does not carry the fast administrative clock a DWI does, but several clocks run at once across the three tracks, and timing decides what evidence survives and what options remain.

The Texas defense is built first because that is the case on file. Forrest Good PLLC reviews the airport police body-worn camera, the TSA incident report, the X-ray screen capture if it exists, and the chain of custody for the firearm.¹³ The Section 46.03 charge turns on the statutory definition of the secured area, which references federal aviation rules, so the State has to prove that the contact occurred inside the secured area as defined; the airport's posted notice and the layout of the checkpoint are read against that definition.¹ The deadly-weapon status of the firearm is settled by the Penal Code's definitions.³

Search legality under the Fourth Amendment is examined as its own question, because administrative screening at a checkpoint is governed by a different set of principles than a roadside stop, and the limits matter.¹⁶ Whether any Section 46.15 exception applies is read against the person's status and the circumstances.⁷ Where the federal investigation is active, the work coordinates with federal counsel before a state motion is filed, because a federal charging decision under 18 U.S.C. Section 930 can be influenced by what is said in the state record.² The TSA civil-penalty posture is mapped in writing alongside the two criminal tracks, and every motion in the state matter is preserved on the record.

The hour estimate

Forrest Good PLLC estimates this case at 50 to 150 hours of attorney time, billed at $250 per hour. The wide band reflects three parallel tracks and one decisive unknown: whether the U.S. Attorney's Office actually files. The lower end reflects a state case that resolves without a federal charge; the upper end reflects an active federal investigation, federal-counsel coordination, contested suppression practice on the checkpoint search, and a fully litigated TSA civil-penalty posture. The pricing methodology explains how the charging instruments, the evidence load, and the procedural stakes drive the estimate.

The scoped engagement and what it covers

This matter is priced through a scoped consultation rather than a flat fee, because the combination of a Texas felony charge, a possible federal case under 18 U.S.C. Section 930, and a TSA civil-penalty action produces too wide a range for a single posted number.² The consultation produces a written engagement letter with a fee specific to the Texas case file. That scope covers review of the airport police and TSA incident reports, the X-ray and chain-of-custody review, the secured-area definitional analysis under Section 46.03,¹ the search-and-seizure analysis, a written strategy memo addressing all three tracks, and pretrial motion practice in the Texas matter through trial-court disposition, including discovery enforcement under Article 39.14.¹³ Any fee published on this page is honored while the page is up, consistent with Texas Disciplinary Rule of Professional Conduct 7.02(d).¹⁷

Any work outside the scoped engagement is billed at $250 per hour and is disclosed in the written engagement letter before it begins. The engagement letter is the binding contract for the matter.

The first step is a conversation. The initial 30-minute consultation with Forrest Good PLLC is free and is scheduled through the office's Google Booking page. It is the time to walk through how the firearm came to be at the checkpoint, the airport police and TSA reports, and the state and federal posture as it stands, before any motion is filed. Bringing the boarding pass, any TSA notice, and the paperwork from the airport police makes the half hour far more useful.

No attorney-client relationship is formed until a written engagement letter is signed; the consultation itself carries no obligation.

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