Shotgun in car's trunk on school grounds leads to charge
2013-10-23T20:45:00Z Shotgun in car's trunk on school grounds leads to charge Glens Falls Post-Star
October 23, 2013 8:45 pm
HUDSON FALLS -- A local high school student was charged with a felony Wednesday after he was found to have a shotgun in his car parked on school grounds, police said.
The 17-year-old, whose name wasn't released because of his age, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds after an investigation by Hudson Falls Police.
Hudson Falls Police Chief Randy Diamond said the gun was unloaded and had not been removed from the trunk of the student's car.
School officials learned that it was in the vehicle, and contacted police.
"The student was cooperative and it appears he had been hunting over the weekend and forgot it was there," Diamond said.
The student did not make any threats to use it and did not appear to have any intent to use it, Diamond said.
There is zero tolerance for weapons on school property though, he explained.
"He was cooperative," Diamond said. "He's a good kid who made a mistake. But it's a situation we have to take seriously."
The teen was released, pending prosecution in Hudson Falls Village Court.
A call to Hudson Falls High School Principal James Bennefield was not returned Wednesday afternoon. http://poststar.com/...19bb2963f4.html
Exactly which nullifies his "I forgot it was in there" defense. In this day and age bringing it onto school grounds and running your mouth will bring problems.
"The student did not make any threats to use it and did not appear to have any intent to use it, Diamond said.
There is zero tolerance for weapons on school property though, he explained.
"He was cooperative," Diamond said. "He's a good kid who made a mistake"
So, just so we are all clear on this, he was never a threat. The firearm was never a threat. He had a legitimate excuse for it being in his car. He is considered a "good kid" and yet we are going to waste taxpayers money on prosecuting him to the fullest extent of the law just to make an example out him. What the F*** is wrong with these people. FUHF
If you do not see a problem with his arrest, then you should read the law and then again read what the police chief was quoted as saying. Here is the pertinent section of law:
§ 265.01-a Criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds.
A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon on school
grounds when he or she knowingly has in his or her possession a rifle,
shotgun, or firearm in or upon a building or grounds, used for
educational purposes, of any school, college, or university, except the
forestry lands, wherever located, owned and maintained by the State
University of New York college of environmental science and forestry, or
upon a school bus as defined in section one hundred forty-two of the
vehicle and traffic law, without the written authorization of such
educational institution.
Criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds is a class E felony.
(source, same article as was quoted in the opening post.
If the teen brought the firearm onto school property only because he had forgotten it was in his trunk - did he knowingly possess it on school property? If he remembered it was there, after bringing it onto the property, and said something like 'oh darn, I have to get my truck off of the property because I forgot I have a gun in it' and either he said that to a school administrator or to another student who then informed school administrators, it may technically be knowing possession but can be argued it was not within the spirit of the law to merit prosecution or certainly not to merit conviction. If someone else somehow knew it was there, and the teen still did not know because he had forgotten, and that someone else informed authorities - where is the knowingly part fulfilled. If he forgot about it, he did not knowingly possess it on school property - plain and simple. Even the chief of police gives him his defense to the charge.
It's not like having a firearm on school property is illegal was kept secret. Forgetting you have a loaded 38 in your bag while trying to go through airport security doesn't make it ok.
when I was in like kindergarten or first grade in primary school I had a water gun in my pocket of my jacket that I pulled out of the closet once the fall weather came.
as soon as I realized it was there I put it right back in the pocket and then did not speak a word of it to anyone. as soon as I got home first thing I did was take it out of my pocket.
this was pre Columbine but still at least I had enough sense not to do anything stupid or say anything.
The kid should have shut his mouth and took his gun home when he realized it was in his trunk. Blame the laws blame whatever but this kid told someone and he got caught up in school b.s. and they called the police. Use your head handle your business and everything should be okay
Felony charge is was disproportionate to what the degree of offense is.
Question is did he knowingly possess the gun on school grounds?
§ 265.01-a Criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds.
A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon on school
grounds when he or she knowingly has in his or her possession a rifle,
shotgun, or firearm in or upon a building or grounds, used for
educational purposes....."
Unfortunately the kid made a mistake (or possibly not) and there are too many potential liabilities that are connected to his mistake.
He has a few more steps before conviction and we will see if discretion is used favorably.
When I was in high school in the '70s, my school, like most had a rifle team. We practiced 6 days a week from September to about March or April. In 10th & 11th grade my mother would meet me in the parking lot after school to bring me my Anschutz 1411 and Winchester 52 for practice everyday. After practice I'd wait in the parking lot for her to pick me up along with my two target rifles. In my senior year, I finally had my drivers license and after school I'd go home get my guns and go back to school for practice.
I want this kid to get the max. I want to make sure that he loses his right to vote and that he'll never ever possess a gun again in his life.
I want to make sure that every time he fills out a job application he has to check that box that says he's a convicted felon. I want him kept away from society for the children's sake. Make it so the only job he could ever hope to hold is that of a deck hand on a Russian trawler.
I want this kid's life made so miserable that that he wonders when his last day on this planet will be.
What if.. weeks before, realizing they were about to be caught Eric Harris or Dylan Kleibold moved a car from school property and rescheduled their murder spree for April 20th ? What if a friend, teacher or principal had known they "mistakenly" brought their guns to school that day and decided to look the other way because.."they cooperated" "they are good kids" "I know their parents" "they said they were out target shooting over the weekend" "they get good grades" ? What would the LIF jury panel say about the fool that let them walk only to return and murder 12 Students, 1 teacher and wound 21 others before committing suicide.
This is supposed to be a free society protecting individual rights. If all this kid did was have a gun in the trunk of his car then what has he done? We're gonna destroy his life based on what could happen? Problem is, we don't know what he'll do the next day or a week from now or a month from now. All we know is he has a gun in the trunk of his car. These are the unknowns involved with a free society.
Now, if we want to forgo these freedoms for safety, which it appears the majority of the people want, I'm sure we can eventually make this place just as safe as any other police state. And every time somebody crosses the "safety line" they'll "disappear". For the good of the people.
Everybody's "good" until they do something horrible. Give our government some time. I'm sure they'll be able to come up with something similar to "Minority Report".
Me? I don't want to give up any of my rights because of some dirtbag did something that winds up statistically somewhere 8 digits to the right of the decimal point.
And no. I wouldn't change my mind if something terrible happened to me personally. It has. And it hasn't changed my mind.
You know, back when I was a kid they did not call the cops when a student messed up, they had their own punishment and it was called DETENTION. You had to sit in one of those cramped study carols for an hour after school, for serious transgressions days at a time. In the library. With the fat Russian librarian with hairy moles glaring at you over her half-glasses and threatening you with even more of her presence if you dared stick your head out from your little cubicle of shame.
Now they charge soe kid with a felony for accidentally forgetting to unload the trunk of his car, but felons get ROR'd back onto the street in 20 minutes, less than a third of the time of detention with miss hairy-moles.
I don't get the picking up cans comment?
I assume it has something to do with differing opinions on a topic with some derogative connotation.
Bottom line is the kid was not being responsible and is now being held accountable for it.
It might seem harsh, but again that's a comment on the laws, not if the kid was right or wrong.
Kids lucky it did not happen in Nassau County he would be screwed hopefully he get ACOD and that is all.....
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