19-year-old charged with BB gun offense at Hercules middle school

 Posted on January 25,2013 in Firearm Possession

A middle school student in Hercules, California contacted a school resource officer around 9:15 Wednesday morning, claiming that she saw a man at the school with a gun in his pocket. She reportedly told the resource officer that she first saw the gun on the bus. She says that she saw the man inside the campus of the school and approached the resource officer.

The resource officer found the man near the administration gate at the school. Officials say that the 19-year-old had attended the school when he was younger, but the resource officer did not believe that the teen was authorized to be at the school. The officer drew his gun and ordered the teen onto the ground. Later, the officer found a BB gun, which was not loaded with any BBs in the pocket. The 19-year-old now is facing a charge of unlawfully possessing a weapon on school grounds.

Generally, the California Penal Code defines weapons fairly broadly in the statute that prohibits bringing or possessing a weapon on K-12 school grounds.Kids, or high school students, may face charges for weapons on school grounds for relatively minor incidents with the breadth of the law in California.

It is not clear what authorities believe was going on in the recent allegations involving an unloaded BB gun at the school. Police even admit that the man accused did not have any BBs in his possession when he was searched. Nonetheless, weapons allegations can bring significant consequences under California law if a person is convicted of the charge.

Source: Contra Costa Times via mercurynews.com, "Hercules: Former student arrested after bringing BB gun to middle school campus," Katie Nelson, Jan.24, 2013

Our firm provides criminal defense for people accused of violent crimes in the Santa Cruz, California area. For more information, please visit the Santa Cruz County criminal defense page.