Courthouse contraband: Cass security talks odd items taken into building

Mar. 4—Sword canes, a solar-powered skateboard, an electric guitar, a miniature baseball bat, weapons of almost every kind — and sometimes illegal drugs.

There's a lot that the security officers at the Cass County Government Building see people try to bring in to the courtrooms and government offices.

Some, like a mini-taser brought in last year, was something Security Director Phil Loos hadn't seen before.

And the guitar was something new, too.

That belonged to a woman who was walking by and needed Kleenex, so security held her instrument while she went in.

"It's like any police officer," said Loos. "If they work the road two to three years, they have stories to tell."

Loos has been in building security for 12 years, 11 of those as director, bringing people through the metal detector and scanning their personal items in the X-ray machine.

It's difficult to say what's the weirdest thing county building security has seen, but in 2018, a woman tried to bring in a black rat hidden in her cleavage when she came for a protective order.

Security saw her fiddling with it outside, and at the search area, the pink nose poked out.

The woman was afraid that if she left it at home, her pit bull would've killed it, she told Loos.

However, he didn't want it getting loose in the building and needing to be exterminated.

Last year was slower than usual for contraband.

Because of six weeks of COVID-19 shutdowns and because of video court hearings for those in Cass County Jail, the number of contraband items they've held or confiscated went down 42 percent, Loos said.

The security officers intercepted 437 weapons last year, down from 748 in 2019, he reported at Friday's Cass County Council meeting.

The only increases were in guns (four in 2020 and none in 2019), miscellaneous (from 42 to 46) and the mini-taser.

There were 273 knives (down from 518), 38 box knives (down from 51 and usually brought in by people coming to the building from work), 55 canisters of pepper spray (down from 63), 11 pairs of scissors (down from 27) and 14 Leatherman-style all-purpose tools (down from 47).

The miscellaneous included four metal hair picks, an aerosol spray bottle (can be used to spray in people's eyes or as a blowtorch with a lighter) and, of course, the guitar.

For most items, the security team will hold them until the owner leaves the building — unless they're illegal, such as brass knuckles.

Cellphones have special rules.

They're not allowed in courtrooms, but they are allowed during governmental meetings so people can record those and post them online.

For those going to court who've brought their cellphones into the building, security will keep them in small storage lockers.

However, cellphones in courtrooms get confiscated for a week, and hats worn in courtrooms get held for a month, both based on judges' orders, said Loos.

Security still has seven or eight cellphones that people never came back to claim.

The owner of the solar-powered skateboard, which was a 2019 incident, did reclaim that as he left.

He drove it to the building, and it has a remote with braking and acceleration, said Loos.

The first sword cane for Loos came during his first week, shortly after his supervisor, David Patty, had talked about it.

The man was told to take it to his vehicle.

"The guy just wanted to see if he could get it in," Loos said. "A lot of times that's what they do — try and slip something in so they can brag."

Forgetfulness is another reason for odd things coming in, such as the box knives and all-purpose tools.

Women have brought in electronic marital aids in their purses.

One man who emptied his packets to go through the X-ray machine hid a set of brass knuckles under his wallet.

When asked what it was, he said a paperweight.

Loos said he told them that's exactly what it would be in the security office until it was time for the sheriff's department to destroy it.

In 2018, there were three guns, three sets of brass knuckles and one straight razor, said Loos.

Sometimes people leave the guns in their vehicles but bring in the magazines so no one could use the gun, Loos said.

Security takes custody of the magazines, returning them as the owner leaves the building.

Security officers need keen observation skills when looking for contraband.

There's a metal credit card-sized item sold at fairs that unfolds into a sharp knife, as well as guns and other items made to look like cellphones.

Loos was shown a plastic hairbrush by a county employee that had a gap when X-rayed.

The handle could come off, revealing a sharp plastic knife.

Other times, things aren't what they seem under the X-rays.

Loos recalls a large hand lotion bottle that looked like an Uzi, and one woman's boxes and electronic device together looked like a homemade explosive.

He asked her how long she'd been making bombs, he said jokingly.

Although drugs don't get discovered often, one time when regular security was at training, the replacements had to arrest the second man through in the morning, Loos said.

He came in drunk, and when emptied his pockets, he saw the tinfoil-wrapped marijuana fall out and said, "aw, man, I thought I got rid of that."

Security guards have also learned from seminars to check the bushes outside for contraband, and they've found some, including butter knives.

There was also once a steak knife in a sheath leaning against the jail building.

Loos said he didn't know whether someone intended it for a prisoner or what.

Overall, the number of confiscations and holds by security has been decreasing, even without coronavirus restrictions affecting 2020, said Loos.

In 2014, there were 11,094; in 2018, there were 750; and in 2019, the 748 was just a bit lower.

Reach James D. Wolf Jr. at james.wolf@pharostribune.com or 574-732-5117

Twitter @JamesDWolfJr