Man not indicted for bringing gun to school board meeting

Published 4:08 pm Tuesday, July 5, 2016

VALDOSTA, Ga. — A Valdosta man who brought a gun to a school board meeting will not be prosecuted.  

A Lowndes County Grand Jury did not contest the fact the weapon was brought into the board meeting, but chose not to pursue charges against the man whose name was not released in a police department announcement that there would be no indictment. 

Valdosta Chief of Police Brian Childress said Tuesday, “I think that in this particular case the grand jury made the right decision. There was no intent to do anyone harm.”

Childress said the man “made a mistake,” but added “a jury of people from Lowndes County decided against prosecution and I think that was the right thing to do.” 

The man was facing misdemeanor charges of possession of a firearm in a school safety zone and a felony of making a false statement to a law enforcement officer.

The loaded firearm, a Derringer .32-caliber revolver, was located by a custodian the morning after the May 10 Valdosta City School board meeting, authorities said. 

According to the police department, Georgia law stipulates if the offender holds a valid firearms permit, the felony offense is reduced to a misdemeanor.

“Once received by the police department, an investigation was initiated to determine how the firearm got in the boardroom and who the owner was,” a statement released by the police department stated.

The firearm was sent to the Valdosta/Lowndes Regional Crime Laboratory for ballistic testing and for an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms trace, but the gun owner showed up at the Valdosta police headquarters to claim the weapon. The owner provided proof of ownership and that he possessed a valid Georgia firearms carry license, authorities said in the prepared statement.  

The authorities said their investigation indicated the man often carried the firearm on his person and he had indicated in interviews with the police he forgot he had the weapon with him that night.

“The investigation also determined there was reasonable evidence that the firearm fell out of the owner’s pocket while at the school board meeting and there appeared no intent to harm anyone with the weapon,” the press released stated. 

After discussing the case with the state solicitor and district attorney’s office, the Valdosta Police Department determined the case should be reviewed by the grand jury, leading to the decision Friday not to indict.