Student charged for having weapons on Bluefield College campus

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I know he was drunk but, the law against having guns on a school campus only relates to K-12 the way I read it. I really hope this is a mistake on the posession charge. I carried all the time when I was in college in Abingdon.

http://www.bdtonline.com/local/loca..._278212400.html

BC student charged with intoxication, weapons on campus
By CHARLES OWENS
Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD, Va. — A student who had five firearms inside of a vehicle parked on the Bluefield College campus has been charged with the possession of weapons on school property, police said Friday.

The Bluefield, Va., Police Department was contacted by campus security around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night regarding the incident, Police Chief Harry Cundiff said.

“It was a student at Bluefield College,” Cundiff said. “He was inside his vehicle when we arrived, and he was under the influence. He was charged with intoxicated in public. He had five weapons in his vehicle with him, which on campus property is a class six felony. He was charged with having the weapons on school property. We have taken custody of all of the weapons. The young man did have a concealed carry permit.”

Nathaniel Harrell, 22, of Fredericksburg, Va., was arrested and charged with intoxicated in public and possession of weapon on school property, Lt. Pete Beavers, of the Bluefield, Va., Police Department, said.

“One of the biggest things we want to stress is there was no threat toward anyone before or after (the incident),” Beavers said.

Beavers said Harrell was transported before a magistrate, and released on bond. Beavers said an arraignment hearing on the charges is pending in Tazewell County General District Court.

“At no time were the weapons a threat to the officers who made the arrests or the security officers,” Cundiff said.

It is a violation of Bluefield College policy, and state law, to have a firearm on campus, Chris Shoemaker, a college spokesman, said.

“The student has been suspended, and he’s no longer on campus,” Shoemaker said. “Whether it be for hunting or whatever purpose, it is against school policy to have a firearm on campus.”

Shoemaker said the college has received several calls from concerned parents regarding the incident.

“We’ve had lots of calls from parents, and of course questions from students, and we have communicated with the students and parents the details of what happened,” Shoemaker said. “And we are sharing with them the steps we are taking to be vigilant, and we certainly want to assure them that we believe this is isolated, and we don’t believe that any threat still exists for students.”

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com

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Based on what has been published:

Public intoxication? yes

Class 6 felony, state law against weapons on college campus? - no

It is good that the student was arrested before he drove off in that condition. It was bad that the young man was apparently charged with a felony based on the misapplication of Virginia law.:banghead:

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It will be interesting to see what nonexistant law he is charged under.

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CPerdue wrote:

It will be interesting to see what nonexistant law he is charged under.

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The Class-6 Felony is nonexistant because the Sheriff can't tell the difference between a private college and a school K-12.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-308.1

Para B.

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How frikkin ignorant of the law can they be??!!! I bet OC'ing would bring a slew of charges.

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I just emailed the reporter, asking him to do a follow up on the illegal arrest, and quoting him the relevant code.

Maybe a few more emails would help...

cowens@bdtonline.com

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At no time were the weapons a threat to the officers who made the arrests or the security officers

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Weapons (other than bombs which can be unstable) are not a threat. It's the person who is using them... :banghead:



there they go again with the "hunting" thing...

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Correct....

The law does not apply to a college!! They screwed up.

They better read that code again.. Here it is.



If he was really at a lower level school that is covered by the code....

He had a CC permit and was in his car at the time.....So hewouldhave been permitted tohave a loaded concealed handgun if he stayed in the car.

There are also exemptionsfor unloaded rifles and shotguns in the vehicleand unloaded firearms in closed containers.




§ 18.2-308.1. Possession of firearm, stun weapon, or other weapon on school property prohibited.

A. If any person possesses any (i) stun weapon as defined in this section; (ii) knife, except a pocket knife having a folding metal blade of less than three inches; or (iii) weapon, including a weapon of like kind, designated in subsection A of § 18.2-308, other than a firearm; upon (a) the property of any public, private or religious elementary, middle or high school, including buildings and grounds; (b) that portion of any property open to the public and then exclusively used for school-sponsored functions or extracurricular activities while such functions or activities are taking place; or (c) any school bus owned or operated by any such school, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

B. If any person possesses any firearm designed or intended to expel a projectile by action of an explosion of a combustible material while such person is upon

(i) any public, private or religious elementary, middle or high school, including buildings and grounds;

(ii) that portion of any property open to the public and then exclusively used for school-sponsored functions or extracurricular activities while such functions or activities are taking place; or

(iii) any school bus owned or operated by any such school, he shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony; however, if the person possesses any firearm within a public, private or religious elementary, middle or high school building and intends to use, or attempts to use, such firearm, or displays such weapon in a threatening manner, such person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years to be served consecutively with any other sentence.

The exemptions set out in § 18.2-308 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the provisions of this section.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to

(i) persons who possess such weapon or weapons as a part of the school's curriculum or activities;

(ii) a person possessing a knife customarily used for food preparation or service and using it for such purpose;

(iii) persons who possess such weapon or weapons as a part of any program sponsored or facilitated by either the school or any organization authorized by the school to conduct its programs either on or off the school premises; (iv) any law-enforcement officer;

(v) any person who possesses a knife or blade which he uses customarily in his trade;

(vi) a person who possesses an unloaded firearm that is in a closed container,

or a knife having a metal blade, in or upon a motor vehicle,

or an unloaded shotgun or rifle in a firearms rack in or upon a motor vehicle; or

(vii) a person who has a valid concealed handgun permit and possesses a concealed handgun while in a motor vehicle in a parking lot, traffic circle, or other means of vehicular ingress or egress to the school. For the purposes of this paragraph, "weapon" includes a knife having a metal blade of three inches or longer and "closed container" includes a locked vehicle trunk.

As used in this section:

"Stun weapon" means any device that emits a momentary or pulsed output, which is electrical, audible, optical or electromagnetic in nature and which is designed to temporarily incapacitate a person.

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Email sent. This is a severe mis-interpreation of the law, shame on Bluefield College.

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I also sent an email to Mr. Shoemaker about his comments regarding this, here is his email if anyone else feels like correcting him, cshoemaker@bluefield.edu


ChadW wrote:

It is a violation of Bluefield College policy, and state law, to have a firearm on campus, Chris Shoemaker, a college spokesman, said.

“The student has been suspended, and he’s no longer on campus,” Shoemaker said. “Whether it be for hunting or whatever purpose, it is against school policy to have a firearm on campus.

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