Johnston Co Eagle Scout getting a raw deal.

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13bullets

Chris
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Video in link: http://gunssavelives.net/blog/honor...-after-accidentally-leaving-shotgun-in-truck/

Honors Student & Eagle Scout Charged with Felony and Expelled After Accidentally Leaving Shotgun in Truck

MAY 1 2013
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According to Todd Starnes of Fox News, Cole Withrow, an Eagle Scout, honors student, and active church member has had his life turned upside down.
The trouble began when Withrow discovered he had accidentally left his shotgun in his truck once he arrived at school. He had been skeet shooting with some friends the day before.
Withrow tried to immediately call his mother to come and pick up the firearm, but he was overheard by a school official.
Withrow told officials the truth about what happened. Then he was arrested and immediately and permanently expelled from school.
According to Fox News,
“He didn’t know what to do,” Boykin, whose son is friends with Withrow, told Fox News. “If you jump in the truck and leave, then they get you for skipping school. Once you are there you have to say.
“I think it’s an injustice for this young man,” she added. “He’s a good guy. He’s loved by his classmates and his teachers. You don’t become an Eagle Scout by being a bad seed.”
She said the school district is sending a very bad message to students.
“You teach your kids if you’re in trouble or if you see you’ve done something wrong, go ahead and admit it,” she said. “Be a man and it’ll be fixed. In this case, that’s what he did and he’s being punished for it. That’s not the lesson we need to teach our kids.”​
Withrow was just two weeks away from graduating with honors, but now he may not be able to graduate high school this year at all. He will have to wait 365 days in order to finish his last two weeks of high school. His life will be on pause – for trying to do the right thing.
Here is the phone number for the school: (919) 936-6431
Here is the phone number for the NC Governor’s office: (919) 733-5811
Follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #freecole
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Princeton High School, Princeton NC:​
Kirk Denning, Principal​
Catherine Bennett, Assistant Principal​
Lowell Hardy, Assistant Principal​
Robin Pate, Assistant Principal​
I'll be calling tomorrow. This young man tried to do the right thing after making an honest mistake. It'll be a failure of our society to let him not graduate and face a felony charge for this.​
 
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/eagle-scout-facing-expulsion-over-gun-charge.html

Eagle Scout Facing Expulsion over Gun Charge

Posted in Top Stories | 0 comments
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May 1, 2013
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By Todd Starnes
Eagle Scout Cole Withrow was just a few weeks from graduating with honors from his North Carolina high school, but now the active church member is facing a felony weapons charge and a precarious future after accidentally leaving a shotgun in his pickup truck in the school parking lot.
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Most members of the Johnston County community, just southeast of Raleigh believe the 18-year-old is paying far too big a price for an honest mistake. Withrow had been skeet shooting with friends a day before, and only noticed he had left his shotgun in his truck on Monday morning as he reached to grab his book bag, said family friend Kimberly Boykin. When he realized his mistake, rather than leave school grounds, he went to the front office to call his mother for help.
“He didn’t know what to do,” Boykin, whose son is friends with Withrow, told Fox News. “If you jump in the truck and leave, then they get you for skipping school. Once you are there you have to say.
“I think it’s an injustice for this young man,” she added. “He’s a good guy. He’s loved by his classmates and his teachers. You don’t become an Eagle Scout by being a bad seed.”
She said the school district is sending a very bad message to students.

Cole Withrow with his sister.​
“You teach your kids if you’re in trouble or if you see you’ve done something wrong, go ahead and admit it,” she said. “Be a man and it’ll be fixed. In this case, that’s what he did and he’s being punished for it. That’s not the lesson we need to teach our kids.”
Withrow, who did his senior class project on gun safety, locked the gun in his truck before going to call his mother. But when he asked her to come and take the gun, the trouble started.
“He was overheard in a private conversation with his mother explaining what happened,” Boykin said. “He could have told a story, but he told the truth.”
A spokesperson for Johnston County Schools confirmed to Fox News that they found the shotgun in Withrow’s locked vehicle.
“The law is very clear when a person knowingly and willingly brings a weapon onto educational property,” spokesperson Tracey Peedin Jones said. “The situation was turned over to law enforcement immediately.”
Boykin said he was also expelled for 365 days – meaning that he will not be able to graduate from high school.
“He cannot go back on the campus,” Boykin said. “If that happens he won’t get a diploma. He won’t get to walk across the stage with the kids he’s known since birth. He won’t get to start college in the fall.”
Withrow’s arrest has sparked outrage across this small town, southeast of Raleigh. A Facebook pagehas been launched to generate support for the boy – and students have launched a Twitter hash-tag “#FREECOLE.”
“He is very honest and respectable and would never intentionally try to hurt anyone,” said classmate Kelcie Thomas. “It was an honest mistake and my whole school is backing him up and supporting him fully.”
The Withrow family is not talking to the media on the advice of their attorney – but Boykin said the family is just heartbroken.
“It’s almost like they are in a fog – something so innocent has turned into this big to-do,” she said. “When you try to do the right thing, you get in trouble.”
aradio.foxnews.com_toddstarnes_wp_content_uploads_2013_05_WITHROW1_300x225.jpg
Cole Withrow with is family.​
The school system is standing by their decision.
“Administration reacted promptly and the proper procedures and protocol were followed,” Jones said. “The situation was turned over to law enforcement immediately. As a result of our investigation, it is our best determination that students and staff were safe at all times.”
Boykin said the problem is that the laws are black and white.
“There’s no room for gray area,” she said. “There’s no room for discretion for human error.”
While his future remains unclear, Boykin said an encounter last week sums up the character of Cole Withrow.
“The kids got their caps and gowns on Friday and after school a group of them went to a local Mexican restaurant,” she recounted.
“They were being loud teenagers and carrying on – but when the waiter brought their food – the table got quiet. They all bowed their heads and they said the blessing. Cole was one of those kids.”
Boykin said she cried when another mom told her that story.
“They don’t always make the right decisions,” she said. “But I don’t know what other kind of decision he could have made at that point.”
Like many in this town of 1,000 residents, Boykin is dumbfounded.
“Honestly, my heart just broke,” she said. “I know that it was just an honest mistake.”
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The school system is standing by their decision.
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“Administration reacted promptly and the proper procedures and protocol were followed,” Jones said. “The situation was turned over to law enforcement immediately. As a result of our investigation, it is our best determination that students and staff were safe at all times.”
Boykin said the problem is that the laws are black and white.
“There’s no room for gray area,” she said. “There’s no room for discretion for human error.”
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Wait..!! WHAT ??

And just 2 years previous... double standard ? Say it ain't so.....
http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/9278548/

Princeton High administrator, officer suspended in gun incident


March 16 2011
PRINCETON, N.C. — An assistant principal at Princeton High School and a school resource officer were each suspended for two days after a gun was found on campus two weeks ago, authorities said Wednesday.
Assistant Principal Catherine Bennett allowed the school's auto mechanics class to work on her car, not knowing that she had left a gun in the glove box, said Tammy Amaon, spokeswoman for the Johnston County Sheriff's Office.
Bennett asked Deputy Andy Worley, the school resource office at Princeton High, to search the car on March 4, saying she had misplaced her gun and hadn't been able to find it. Worley found the gun in the car's glove box but didn't remove it, Amaon said.
Students in the class later found the weapon and showed it to classmates, Amaon said.
Johnston County prosecutors have decided not to file any charges in the case, she said.

No gray area here at all...... absolutley NONE !!

BS
 
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“The law is very clear when a person knowingly and willingly brings a weapon onto educational property,” spokesperson Tracey Peedin Jones said. “The situation was turned over to law enforcement immediately.”
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Doesn't look black/white to me, the school can admit the weapon was brought accidentally (not knowingly and willingly) onto the property, then let the kid graduate and leave him alone to deal with the legal clusterfook. Hopefully the judge and prosecutor will have more common sense than the school officials.
 
Damn tough situation here.
The law sucks. But he broke the law. And I'm not sure how many of us want that law changed.

We can't have arbitrarily capricious law, he's a "good" kid it's ok , but if he was a "bad" kid it wouldnt be ok.

That said the cant graduate is a major red herring. He can and will graduate and start college he just won't walk.
 
Ron said:
Damn tough situation here.
The law sucks. But he broke the law. And I'm not sure how many of us want that law changed.

We can't have arbitrarily capricious law, he's a "good" kid it's ok , but if he was a "bad" kid it wouldnt be ok.

That said the cant graduate is a major red herring. He can and will graduate and start college he just won't walk.
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He made a mistake, I get it, deal with it as such, it wasn't intentional, it wasn't malicious, he tried to make it right and got railed ( this is where I start having the problem ) If he hid it and was caught, way different situation ( still dumb, and would still be over reacted too )

2 years previous, staff at the SAME SCHOOL did basically the same thing, got suspended for a few days and all was good, what is the difference ?

if this follows thru, the kid is screwed, by the time he is through the court process he'll be over 18 so the Felony charge will stick with him for life
 
I would want to read the text of the law before I say the teacher broke the same law. And know if the law has been revised.
I get what you are saying, I really do.

But I don't want to live in a society that regulates intent. That's a slippery slope.
 
the scary part for me here is that my child is in the same school system ( JoCo ) and I have run into similar ( though not as serious) situation.

There is no logic, rationalization or actual thought in the process, only knee jerk reaction because someone made a rule.
 
Ron said:
But I don't want to live in a society that regulates intent. That's a slippery slope.
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Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Intent is a critical component of our legal system. It's one that has been severely undermined in recent years to our detriment. But historically, violations of most laws were predicated on the violation being a willful act. Accidentally violating a law was deemed to be merely that -- an accident.
 
shawn said:
Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Intent is a critical component of our legal system. It's one that has been severely undermined in recent years to our detriment. But historically, violations of most laws were predicated on the violation being a willful act. Accidentally violating a law was deemed to be merely that -- an accident.
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This is what I was taught in Criminal Justice at UNCC in 1998 when discussing the element of a crime. In order for a crime to have been committed the person had to have had intent.
 
shawn said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_rea
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I get it. And I'm too tired to tap out this combo on my sons iPad....but you have to be able to prove intent. I don't know this kid, and he seems legit but what's to keep Tyronne the gandbanger from callin momma when he realizes he has a 9 in his pocket right before it goes off....anyone who is not responsible enough to remember if they have a gun probably ought not to own one.

That said I did the same thing once in high school and my football coach solved the problem for me...BUT if I had got caught and punished for breaking a law I wouldn't have cried about it. A least I hope I wouldn't have.

In sc the law is real clear here. Bring a gun to a school campus for any reason it's a felony.
Btw in sc the owner of that long gun, if registered, also committed a felony
 
It's a crying shame this incident happened, but as a person just a few years older than him I don't believe tagging "Honors Student & Eagle Scout" before his conviction means anything. Just thinking out loud.
 
Given the facts as stated, I would hope the felony charges would be reduced or dropped in this instance. He honestly informed the staff of his violation, probly had the shotgun locked up or stowed out of sight, and he did'nt shoot anyone. I would have left or not told anyone and gone home after school to remove the shotgun............but this was a non-issue when I went to school and I never saw any students cars searched parked on or off campus.

I'm also proud to read his fellow students are protesting the charges and hope they make a difference and change some minds and his fate.
 
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I beleive it was Shawn that said " the average person commits an average of 3 felonies a day.... " and had the info to back it up ( too tired to find it right now )

NONE of us can say we haven't done something similar EVER, it doesn't have to be a gun in a vehicle, but something just as innocuious and largely not that big of deal
 
Blkvoodoo said:


Wait..!! WHAT ??

And just 2 years previous... double standard ? Say it ain't so.....
http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/9278548/

Princeton High administrator, officer suspended in gun incident


March 16 2011
PRINCETON, N.C. — An assistant principal at Princeton High School and a school resource officer were each suspended for two days after a gun was found on campus two weeks ago, authorities said Wednesday.
Assistant Principal Catherine Bennett allowed the school's auto mechanics class to work on her car, not knowing that she had left a gun in the glove box, said Tammy Amaon, spokeswoman for the Johnston County Sheriff's Office.
Bennett asked Deputy Andy Worley, the school resource office at Princeton High, to search the car on March 4, saying she had misplaced her gun and hadn't been able to find it. Worley found the gun in the car's glove box but didn't remove it, Amaon said.
Students in the class later found the weapon and showed it to classmates, Amaon said.
Johnston County prosecutors have decided not to file any charges in the case, she said.

No gray area here at all...... absolutley NONE !!

BS
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^^^^this. ... aaaaalllllll day long. If this kid "willfully & intentionally" brought his shotgun to school, so did the current assistant principal two years ago. Why was she allowed to keep her job & not be arrested on the spot for a felony as well??
 
mommucked said:
Given the facts as stated, I would hope the felony charges would be reduced or dropped in this instance. He honestly informed the staff of his violation, probly had the shotgun locked up or stowed out of sight, and he did'nt shoot anyone. I would have left or not told anyone and gone home after school to remove the shotgun............but this was a non-issue when I went to school and I never saw any students cars searched parked on or off campus.

I'm also proud to read his fellow students are protesting the charges and hope they make a difference and change some minds and his fate.
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Major point of clarification to me.
He did not inform the staff he tried to call a relative to cover the crime and was overheard.
Had he gone direct to a principal or teacher and this resulted I'd feel much different.
 
mommehK said:
^^^^this. ... aaaaalllllll day long. If this kid "willfully & intentionally" brought his shotgun to school, so did the current assistant principal two years ago. Why was she allowed to keep her job & not be arrested on the spot for a felony??

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy III via Tapatalk 2....better than your overpriced iCrap!
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Does the law differentiate because of age?
Or student vs faculty status?
Or has the law changed in the past two years.

If none of these things, then yes the the vp should be charged also,
 
Ron said:
Major point of clarification to me.
He did not inform the staff he tried to call a relative to cover the crime and was overheard.
Had he gone direct to a principal or teacher and this resulted I'd feel much different.
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He called his Mom for advice. Not a terrible thing for a high school student to do.
 
Wasnt too long ago (I graduated HS in 2000) during hunting season, an 870 or 30-30 lived behind the seat in my truck. Even at school. Im sure that some of the teachers and staff probably had an idea cause we (some of my friends too) would come to school after leaving the stand still in camo.
 
13bullets said:
He called his Mom for advice. Not a terrible thing for a high school student to do.
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bad deal all around and I have carried my guns to school on fridays left them locked in my truck out of sight, in order to hunt out of town with friends (especially in college) I never mentioned it to anyone, and nothing was ever said nor was i caught, honestly he should have just kept quiet about the gun and had his mom sign him out at lunch and go home!!
 
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