Former KDKA radio reporter Rob Milford was ordered to stand trial yesterday on firearms charges after bringing a handgun to the Allegheny County Courthouse last month.

Mr. Milford, 53, of Castle Shannon, is charged with carrying a firearm in a court facility and carrying a firearm without a license.

Mr. Milford was arriving at the courthouse to cover the trial of the East End rapist June 16 when a county police officer noticed a .38-caliber snub-nosed revolver in his briefcase when he put it through the metal detector at the courthouse entrance. The gun was loaded with five rounds, according to the police affidavit.

Mr. Milford's attorney, Wendy Williams, argued at yesterday's preliminary hearing that Mr. Milford did not know the gun was in the briefcase, and therefore he did not violate the statute which states that someone cannot "knowingly" bring a firearm into the courthouse.

Officer John Brevak testified that Mr. Milford appeared normal when he put his briefcase on the medical detector and was "upset, definitely," when it was revealed there was a gun inside. He cooperated fully with authorities.

Ms. Williams, speaking after the hearing, would not say where Mr. Milford got the gun, but he told investigators at the time that he got it from his girlfriend and he had forgotten it was in the briefcase.

Mr. Milford, a morning general assignment reporter, arrived at KDKA in April 2006 after working for Fox News Radio, among other stations. He reported from the Iraq war twice, once when he was embedded during the initial invasion in 2003.

He resigned from the radio station three days after the gun incident, a decision KDKA called a "mutual agreement."

"Mr. Milford has lost his job and his livelihood," Ms. Williams said after the hearing, as Mr. Milford declined to comment.