Concealed blade in walking cane lands man in jail

The way Clyde Davis sees it, if he'd grabbed a different one of his many canes he wouldn't have landed in jail.

“The charge is true, but there was no malice aforethought,” Davis said this afternoon.

The charge is carrying weapons, an aggravated misdemeanor that could mean two years in  prison and a $6,250 fine. Davis said he'd forgotten the cane had a blade hidden inside when he grabbed it before taking his nephew to the federal courthouse the morning of June 11.

“We were running a little late, because of me, and I just reached over and grabbed a cane,” said Davis, 56, of 4408 Sherman St. NE.  “It's hard to find a walking stick made out of bamboo – it's a nice light and strong substance.”

Davis drove his nephew to the temporary federal courthouse, 4200 C St. SW, for a meeting with his parole officer. They returned to the car once to leave their cell phones behind after seeing a sign warning they're banned from the building, but Davis said he forgot about the hidden blade.

Instead, Davis placed the cane on the belt that carries items through the X-ray machine at the entrance. He said a guard first returned the cane, then asked for a second look. The guard unscrewed the base and discovered the hidden 18-inch blade.

“He was real nice about the situation, and so was I,” said Davis.

But there are procedures for this situation, and Cedar Rapids police were called.

“They were the ones who turned it into a ballyhoo,” he said.

The officers arrested Davis, who spent a few hours in jail before his nephew posted bail. He was formally charged Thursday.

Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Myron McDaniel said he couldn't discuss much about the case, but it's possible Davis could be charged in federal court, too.

“The issue was, he came into a federal courthouse with a weapon,” said McDaniel. “It's a concealed weapon even if you're not coming into a federal courthouse. Other than that I can't really comment.”

Davis, who uses a cane because he's partially paralyzed on his left side, said he has about a dozen of them.

“I ordered that cane out of a catalogue, and it's been so long ago I'd forgotten about it,” he said. “If I'd had an inkling that was in the cane I would gave gone back and sat in the car.”

Davis said he's not sure how he'll plead.

“I hadn't even thought about it,” he said.