Sunday, May 5, 2002
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Sunday, May 5, 2002 |
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Lawn tool left in pickup lands FCHS student in hot water
By JOHN
MUNFORD
A junior at Fayette County High School has been arrested and suspended from school for 10 days after a machete was found in the back of his pickup truck in the school parking lot. Frank James Gilman, 17, told school officials he had used the machete previously while doing lawn care and forgot to take it out of his truck before coming to school Tuesday, said schools spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach. The FCHS junior was arrested Tuesday and released on a $1,000 bond Wednesday afternoon. The student conduct code prohibits students from possessing weapons or "any object which can be reasonably considered a weapon" on school property, Berry-Dreisbach pointed out. Georgia law also requires school officials to report any weapons violation to local law enforcement officers, Berry-Dreisbach said. "We have to alert the authorities," Berry-Dreisbach said. "We have no choice ... our hands are tied." In this case, the warrant on Gilman was taken out by Sgt. Ernest Stanley, a Fayetteville police officer who serves as the school's resource officer. The machete, which is almost 22 inches long according to court records, was spotted by Stanley as he patrolled the parking lot area Tuesday afternoon, Berry-Dreisbach said. When Gilman's 10-day suspension is up, a disciplinary tribunal will be held to determine if further punishment is warranted, Berry-Dreisbach said. That tribunal, composed of at least three principals, teachers or counselors in the school system, will have the chance to hear Gilman's side of the story, she added. That tribunal could decide to suspend or possibly expel Gilman from school, Dreisbach noted. Attempts to reach Gilman and his parents for comment were unsuccessful.
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