A US missionary has been given an absolute discharge in connection with gun and ammunition charges.Egbert Haywood, 72, from North Carolina, was found with a .32 calibre pistol, four rounds of ammunition and an offensive weapon, an extendable baton, at the LF Wade International Airport on November 22.He was attempting to leave the Island on a flight to Canada, but instead was arrested and held in custody 13 days after the loaded firearm was discovered in a mesh bag inside his checked luggage.While he was granted $100,000 bail on December 2, the court heard he was unable arrange bail and remained in custody.Mr Haywood was in Bermuda for a day, and tests demonstrated that the weapon had not been used in any crimes on the Island.In a preliminary hearing held on Thursday, lawyer Saul Froomkin, representing Mr Haywood, told the court that his client was an ex-US Marine and missionary with the Southern Baptist Church en route to his Christian mission in Chile.Mr Froomkin also explained that Mr Heywood had previously performed missionary work in “a not very safe area of the US.”During the hearing the court also heard that Mr Heywood was an investor in fold, and his luggage contained 140 gold coins valued at around $250,000, representing a portion of his life savings.After hearing the evidence in the case, Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner discharged both the gun and ammunition charges and adjourned the remaining matter of the baton, indicating that it made little sense for that charge to be heard in Supreme Court.Appearing in Magistrates' Court on Friday, Mr Haywood pleaded guilty to possessing the baton.While Crown counsel Nicole Smith suggested either a conditional or absolute discharge, Mr Froomkin argued that any conditions would be pointless as Mr Haywood was leaving the jurisdiction.Mr Warner imposed an absolute discharge, telling Mr Haywood: “I'm sure from this experience you should be more careful how you travel or what you travel with.”The Magistrate said that Mr Haywood's travel documents would be returned as soon as possible, but the weapons would remain in the hands of Bermuda Police.“He is not going to get them back,” Mr Warner said. “If we gave it back to him, he would be in possession of it again.”The incident is not the first in which a visitor has said they accidentally brought firearms or ammunition to the Island.In June, two tourists were released without charge after 40 rounds of 9mm ammunition were found by security at the Dockyard cruise ship terminal.In 2009, 67-year-old Lucy Stackler was charged after eleven rounds of ammunition were discovered in her carry-on. However, those charges were later dismissed.61-year-old real estate agent Lori DuBell, from Naples, Florida, was granted an absolute discharge on appeal after serving ten days imprisonment for importing a 9mm magazine on a JetBlue flight from Boston.After noticing the magazine, she removed nine live rounds and dumped them in the bathroom trash bin on the plane.