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School Incident prompts concern
A letter was sent May 15 to parents of students attending Johnson-Williams Middle School in Berryville informing them that a student was “immediately removed from school property” under parental supervision after school administrators and law enforcement officials discovered he was “in possession of multiple knives” and “had made specific verbal threats to two students.”
The incident occurred on May 13, according to the letter from Principal Evan Robb, who assured parents that school staff acted diligently and swiftly to maintain “a safe and orderly environment for students and staff.”
Administrators were informed about the knives by another student, Robb said in a telephone interview May 16.
In the letter, Robb said that administrators immediately “isolated” and “interviewed” the student suspected of possessing the knives and searched him and his locker. They a also contacted local law enforcement and the superintendent and met with the student’s parent, the letter stated.
Noting that such incidents happen nationwide, Robb wrote in the letter, “Often this is due to a code of silence that can exist in schools.”
During the telephone interview, Robb commended the student who alerted administrators, saying, “We had a student who did the right thing.”
In the letter, Robb wrote, “In our community we need to work together to encourage students to come forward if they have information that needs to be shared. As we move forward, I ask you to reaffirm with your children that if they see or hear something inappropriate they must inform a teacher or an administrator.”
The incident will involve ongoing discipline from both the school and local law enforcement, Robb wrote.
The Sheriff’s Office’s school resource officer received a call about the incident from an assistant principal at the middle school at approximately 1:20 p.m., said Clarke County Sheriff Anthony Roper. The officer responded “immediately,” began an investigation, retrieved the knives, “and spoke with [the student's] guardian,” Roper said.
Roper said the student was charged with possession of weapons on school property, noting that eight knives were recovered. “There were some folding knives,” Roper said, adding, “The young man apparently had a knife collection.”
An assistant in the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office said that office could not discuss the specifics of the case because the student is a juvenile. Because the size of the knives was not disclosed by law enforcement officials, the penalty for conviction of the offense with which the student is charged could not be determined.
Commonwealth law states that possession of a knife on school property, “except a pocket knife having a folding metal blade of less than three inches,” is a misdemeanor. If convicted, the penalty is “confinement in jail for not more than 12 months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both,” as the assistant explained the law.
“Subsequent to the initial call in the investigation, we also took possession of several replica firearms,” Roper said, describing these as “play handguns.” The replicas were recovered by law enforcement officials after a search of “a home in Clarke County” later in the day on May 13, Roper said.
The case will be handled by the county’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Roper said. “The courts will be the gateway to the services that are available to him,” Roper added.
"What we want to make sure is that we don’t have anybody hurt at our schools; we’re very, very serious about that part of our job,” Roper said.
The school system has measures in place to ensure school security, Acting Superintendent John Taylor said. These include a crisis intervention center and plan at each school, and a high level of visibility and vigilance by teachers and administrators, he said.
Also, school officials hope to have completed “a good portion” of an upgrade of security technology, which involves linking surveillance cameras to the sheriff’s office, by early in the upcoming school year, Taylor said.
Contact the reporter at rmarlow@timespapers.com
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