Preteens with gun get probation
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
GALESBURG - Two Knoxville boys arrested last month for having a gun on a school bus will be on probation for the next five years.The boys, now both 12, pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon Tuesday in Knox County juvenile court. In exchange for the guilty plea, a charge of aggravated assault against one of the boys for reportedly asking another student if he wanted to be shot, will not be prosecuted.
Both boys are students at Knoxville Junior High School. They were arrested Nov. 22 for having a gun on a District 202 school bus. The .9 mm pistol was not loaded.
One of the boys reportedly had found the gun in a dresser drawer at his mother's home and took it to school. The two have been in the Mary Davis Home Youth Detention Center since their arrests.
The boys have received a psychological examination and the results indicated they are not a threat to themselves or others. Neither boy had previously been arrested.
Each boy was sentenced to 30 days in the Mary Davis Home with credit for 21 days served and five years probation. They will not have to serve the additional nine days unless they violate probation.
They must take a gun safety course and write a 500-word essay on gun safety after completing the course.
They must attend school and if they are expelled from school during a District 202 expulsion hearing Thursday, they must enroll in an alternative education program.
A status hearing was scheduled for the boys in March to make sure they take the gun safety course and attending an education program.
