A 26-year-old man from Pflugerville, Texas, who posed as a law enforcement officer to board commercial flights while armed, has been sentenced to 63 months in federal prison. Jordan Jericho Bautista Gunter admitted to carrying a loaded firearm onto a plane at San Antonio International Airport and falsely claiming to be a sworn officer with authority to transport weapons midair.
Gunter pleaded guilty on May 11, 2016, to one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and one count of carrying a weapon on an aircraft. His criminal history includes a 2011 conviction in Maryland for possession of a concealed deadly weapon — a felony that barred him from legally possessing any firearm, anywhere in the U.S.
The scam didn’t stop at one flight. Court documents revealed Gunter boarded multiple commercial flights while pretending to be law enforcement, even transporting an actual prisoner under false credentials. On March 9, 2015, he walked through TSA screening with a firearm and claimed to be a certified officer authorized to carry a weapon on board — a lie that allowed him to bypass standard security protocols.
His deceit unraveled when federal investigators began tracking his movements and uncovered the full extent of his impersonation. Authorities confirmed Gunter had no affiliation with any police agency, federal or local, and had never completed law enforcement training. His possession of a firearm in Pearsall, Texas, on January 10, 2016, further violated federal law due to his prior conviction.
Gunter has been in federal custody since his arrest in February 2016. He was sentenced in San Antonio today by a U.S. District Court judge, who handed down the 63-month prison term followed by three years of supervised release. Prosecutors emphasized the danger posed by armed individuals fabricating law enforcement status to bypass national security checkpoints.
The case was jointly investigated by the Transportation Security Administration Office of Investigations, Dallas Field Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bettina Richardson prosecuted the case for the government, calling Gunter’s actions a direct threat to aviation safety and public trust.
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