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According to court documents, Smith is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 4 for a preliminary hearing after being charged with carrying a weapon in an unauthorized location.
Smith was arrested at the Hartsfield Jackson International Airport at 4:50 p.m. (ET) at one of the security checkpoints when a .38-caliber handgun was found in his belongings. Smith spent the night at the Clayton County Jail in Jonesboro, Georgia, posting a $3,000 bond on Friday before he was released.
Sources told the Cincinnati Enquirer that the Bengals starting right tackle wasn't aware that a handgun was in his belongings.
While some will quickly deflect this as being a "return to tired themes" with the Bengals, we're not there. Not really even close. Either this was a bone-headed mistake or Smith really didn't know that anything was in his possessions.
This isn't an entirely uncommon thing either. According to the Associated Press, over 100 handguns have been confiscated at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in 2012 alone.