The Virginian-Pilot
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PORTSMOUTH
A 16-year-old who was found with a gun less than two blocks from Wilson High after being suspended from the school was released from juvenile detention Monday and will be on supervised probation for an indeterminate amount of time.
Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Judge William S. Moore Jr. on Monday ordered the youth to perform community service, get counseling and have no access to guns. He said he would review the case in November 2012.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Derek A. Colvin had asked that the youth be committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice out of concern for community safety.
Moore had found the student guilty of felony larceny of a firearm Oct. 4. He had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of possession of a concealed weapon and underage possession of a firearm.
The student, whose name is being withheld by The Virginian-Pilot because he is a juvenile, had been in a detention center since the Sept. 12 incident.
At an earlier hearing, Assistant Principal Sonja Hairston testified that she called his father after he made the remark, "If you're going to suspend me, I'll give you something to suspend me for."
Marc Crippen, a juvenile probation officer who testified Monday, said the assistant principal told him that she did not feel threatened.
The student's father called police after he went home and found a handgun and ammunition missing.
When police stopped the student, he was in a vehicle less than two blocks from the school with a handgun under the driver's seat.
On Monday, the student told the judge he was just trying to run away from home. He told his father and others that he had taken the gun for protection, according to information from the hearing.
Janie Bryant, (757) 446-2453, janie.bryant@pilotonline.com
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