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Deadly Lipstick Found at Wake County Courthouse

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RALEIGH — A tube of lipstick left outside the Wake County Courthouse looked innocent enough, but what police found inside could be deadly.

"To the naked eye it's a tube of lipstick and you wouldn't think that concealed in here is a lethal weapon, but it does," Wake County Sheriff John Baker said.

It was found Wednesday in front of the courthouse. Sheriff Baker has never seen anything like it before, and says it could pose problems to his officers during searches and seizures.

"I'm standing there talking to you and you take this out, and I think you're going to put some lipstick on your lips then all of a sudden you come across my throat," Baker said.

What if someone tried to take the knife through a secured area, would it be detected? Doris Ash works security at the Wake County Courthouse. She says it can be detected with an x-ray machine if you know what to look for.

"Our machine helps us find metal, and this would let me know that there's metal there and the shape would let me know that that's a knife tip," courthouse security officer Doris Ash said.

So, it could be detected in a purse, but what if it is carried through a metal detector.

WRAL reporter Lynda Loveland tested the theory, and walked completely through undetected with a concealed weapon in her pocket.

Sheriff Baker has instructed his training staff to begin using the lipstick knife in the officer training program.

Anyone found with the lipstick knife can be charged with carrying a concealed weapon.

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