MCHS goes on lockout after weapons found on campus

On November 8, the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), Mineral County School District (MCSD), and Mineral County District Attorney’s Office sent out a joint press release responding to recent security events happening at the junior high and high schools.

Firearm ammunition was found in a classroom, causing the police to place the schools on a lockout as they searched lockers, students, and vehicles for any related contraband. During the search, the MCSO found two knives (one found in a car and another on a person) as well as multiple vape pens and a handgun. The handgun was in a car that was borrowed from a family member, and the adult owner of the vehicle was booked on a “possession of a dangerous weapon on school property” charge and released on a $1,140 bond.

The mother of that student said that her son didn’t know the gun was in the car and it’s frustrating because the bullying problem is still out there. “The focus is still on a kid that made an honest mistake,” she says, while the bullying problem is still a big issue. She mentions that he has never gotten in trouble and is devastated at facing possible expulsion as well as damaging future job prospects.

Following the incidents, the MCSO, MCSD, and MC District Attorney’s Office have implemented a zero-tolerance policy.

“Effective immediately, all Sheriff’s Office personnel responding to incidents of violence, weapons, or allegations of any violent or weapons-related activity at Mineral County schools, events, properties, or incidents involving juveniles will conduct proactive criminal investigations and pursue criminal charges to the fullest extent of the law,” the joint statement reads. “The Mineral County District Attorney will file criminal charges for any violent or weapons-related offenses and seek appropriate dispositions that educate, inform, but most importantly protect residents of Mineral County, and especially our youth, from violence,” it further states.

“Pursuant to NRS 202.265, a weapon on school property is a gross misdemeanor, subject to 364 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or a combination of both,” MC District Attorney T. Jaren Stanton later said.

The MCSO will now be conducting additional proactive patrols and walk-throughs before school, at lunchtime, and after school throughout the rest of the school year to enact the policy.

Prior to the November 8 lockout, Mineral County Sheriff Bill Ferguson says that over the years the school district, sheriff’s office, and POOL/PACT (Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool/Public Agency Compensation Trust) have developed plans for the safety of school students and staff in an event that a threat becomes present on campus(es).

“We have a presence but unfortunately the whole nation is undermanned when it comes to law enforcement available,” Sheriff Ferguson says.

The school lockout was prompted due to the police being called out to a stabbing incident between two juveniles at Lions Park a couple of nights before. A witness on scene told the police that one of the juveniles had a gun. It even goes back farther than that as three weeks ago, an altercation happened at a Hawthorne residence involving the same kids, which resulted with the mother of one of the kids chasing them down the street. One of those juveniles showed up to another’s workplace and threatened him, which led to the stabbing incident at Lions Park.

“[The lockout] was the totality of circumstances that led us to where we were at,” Ferguson added.

There has also been some talk about protecting students’ Fourth Amendment rights regarding “…unreasonable searches and seizures…”. The U.S. Fourth Amendment specifically reads: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

To this, Ferguson refers to the landmark case of New Jersey v. T.L.O. in which the US Supreme Court established a set of standards about public school officials being able to search students in a school environment without a warrant.

Sheriff Ferguson said that they are leaving it up to the school for how to reprimand the students who were caught with contraband considering they know them better, however, MCSD Superintendent Stephanie Kuehey could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.