Washington Teen Charged As Adult For Bringing Unloaded Gun To School . . . And Charged As Minor In Possession Of The Gun
jonathanturley
There is a curious set of charges out of Montgomery County. A seventeen-year-old student at Magruder High School was charged as an adult for carrying an unloaded gun into school. However, he is also charged with possession of a firearm by a minor — thereby treating him as a minor for one charge and an adult for another.
The teen was apparently stopped in the Rockville school by a school resources officer and told that no students were allowed in the school before 8 a.m. The student reportedly refused to leave and was arrested for trespass. A search of his backpack uncovered an unloaded .22 caliber described as “an older firearm.” The gun is being tested to determine if it could still fire.
I certainly agree with the need to charge the student, but the contradiction in the charges is rather glaring. It highlights the continuing controversy over prosecutors ignoring the age of defendants and charging children as adults. That is less controversial with a 17 year old. However, we have seen absurd applications of constructive age for minors to be treated as adults. This includes a recent case of a thirteen year old in Florida who killed his brother was he was still 12 years old (he is shown right).
My assumption is that one of these charges will be dropped as part of a plea or before trial.
