Woman allegedly brings gun into courthouse

A woman is being held in prison after she allegedly brought a loaded handgun into the Justice Center.

WEST CHESTER >> A West Goshen woman is being held in Chester County Prison today in lieu of bail after she was held for trial on charge that she allegedly brought a loaded handgun into the Chester County Justice Center.

According to a criminal complaint filed by county Detective Edward P. Nolan, Constance Helen Ent was coming to the courthouse July 18 to attend an appointment with her probation officer with the county’s Office of Adult Probation. She is serving a sentence for a 2013 conviction on charges of criminal trespass and receiving stolen property.

When Ent arrived, she put her pocketbook on the conveyor belt for the security monitor station, as do all visitors. When the purse went through the magnetometer, the deputy sheriff stationed there, Enrique Garcia, spotted the image of a firearm in the purse. He immediately took possession of the weapon and detained Ent, Nolan wrote in his complaint.

Nolan said the gun was a .40 caliber Glock semi-automatic. It was loaded with 13 rounds of hollow point ammunition, court records state.

Ent, 26, does not have a license to carry a concealed weapon, a check of records showed.

She was charged with firearms not to be carried without a license and possession of a firearm in a court facility.

She was held on all charges after a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Mark Bruno of West Chester, who set bail at $50,000 cash.