<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Parent arrested for gun incident
Story Created: 08/29/2000 18:16:59
By KEVIN FLOWERS
Staff writer
An Erie man was arrested after walking into Strong Vincent High School with a loaded semiautomatic handgun Tuesday afternoon. The defendant later said that he had done so before "and no one said nothing to me.''
Tuesday evening, Erie police Det. Kenneth Merchant charged Ronald John Neiswonger, 52, 536 W. 19th St., second floor, with one count of carrying a firearm on school property, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Police claim Neiswonger walked into Strong Vincent, 1330 W. Eighth St., shortly before the final school bell Tuesday and went to the school's office wearing his licensed 9mm semiautomatic handgun in a shoulder holster. Strong Vincent students are dismissed each day at 3 p.m., acting school Principal Janet Woods said.
Police said a permit Neiswonger got from the Erie County Sheriff's Department allows him to carry a concealed weapon. Neiswonger also brought two additional clips of ammunition with him into the school on Tuesday, police said.
Police and school officials said no one was hurt or threatened. Authorities also do not believe Neiswonger went to the school to harm anyone, Erie police Lt. James Skindell said.
Neiswonger talked to reporters after being arraigned before District Justice John Vendetti Tuesday. He said that he went to Strong Vincent Tuesday to talk to someone about his 15-year-old son, an 8th grader at the school. Neiswonger said he had been told the boy was not in school Tuesday.
Neiswonger also said he took the gun with him to Strong Vincent one day last year, again to talk to someone about his child. "But nothing happened then,'' Neiswonger said. " I told them I had a permit to carry it ... and no one said nothing to me.''
Even someone with a concealed weapon permit is not allowed to bring a handgun onto school grounds in Pennsylvania, according to police and Erie Schools Superintendent James Barker. And the Erie School District has a well-publicized "zero tolerance'' policy on weapons that pertains to both students and adults, Barker said.
"The rule is very simple. There is zero tolerance,'' Barker said while standing outside Strong Vincent Tuesday afternoon. "Only those who are authorized, like state and local police and the FBI, are allowed to (carry weapons on school property).
"There is absolutely no circumstance when a parent should bring any type of a weapon onto school property,'' Barker continued. "It will not be tolerated.''
Barker said a "concerned citizen'' who lives near Strong Vincent called police about Neiswonger. That person saw Neiswonger get out of his car and noticed he was wearing the handgun, Barker said.
After police were notified, uniformed officers made it to the school within minutes, Barker said. There were also off-duty Erie police officers working as security at Strong Vincent, said Jim Perfetto, the school district's chief security officer.
Neiswonger was arrested in the school's office. One Strong Vincent teacher said "he didn't even have time to do anything ... because the police were right there.''
Merchant said Neiswonger told police he asked to talk to Woods, the principal. "But he never got a chance to,'' Merchant said.
Police did not draw their weapons on Neiswonger in the office, Merchant said.
"We did have our hands on our guns. You have to remember there's people in that office at that time who had no idea why we were there, Merchant said.
"When he saw us he just put his hands up,'' Merchant said. Officers then took Neiswonger's gun.
Barker said that Neiswonger was taken into custody within five minutes. As a precaution, school officials delayed dismissal of Strong Vincent's students.
"At no time did this individual brandish, threaten or show the weapon,'' Barker said.
Police said Neiswonger purchased his 9mm semiautomatic handgun in 1996 and obtained the permit some time after that.
Erie County Sheriff Bob Merski confirmed that Neiswonger has a valid gun permit, one of 10,000 on the books in Erie County. Statewide, about 110,000 concealed weapons permits are currently valid, Merski said.
Merski would not comment on how long Neiswonger has had the permit. "That's confidential information,'' Merski said.
Love said Neiswonger told police he applied for the permit for protection, claiming that he and others in his family had been threatened in the past. Neiswonger did not elaborate to police about who made those threats, Love said.
Most people who apply for such permits are looking for personal protection, Merski said. And if an applicant does not have a criminal record, a concealed weapons permit is not hard to get.
"It's a standard application that is printed up by the Pennsylvania State Police,'' Merski said.
Merski said most permits are issued to "very law-abiding citizens. I think that of all the gun permits currently issued to people in the state, only 933 were revoked, for whatever reasons, in 1999,'' Merski said.
At his arraignment Tuesday evening, Neiswonger said he was unemployed. "I'm on disability,'' Neiswonger told Vendetti.
Vendetti set bail at 10 percent of $5,000. Neiswonger was released after posting $500.
Copyright 2000, Times Publishing Company
[/quote]
Well, besides being a moron, did this guy really break any laws? Isn't there a phrase in the law about "firearms possession for other lawful purposes" or somesuch?
There were other articles about this in the paper today. The Erie papers are very antigun, and the editors really got a case of the vapors over this. Luckily, Sheriff Merski is a strong RKBA supporter, from what I've heard.
Story Created: 08/29/2000 18:16:59
By KEVIN FLOWERS
Staff writer
An Erie man was arrested after walking into Strong Vincent High School with a loaded semiautomatic handgun Tuesday afternoon. The defendant later said that he had done so before "and no one said nothing to me.''
Tuesday evening, Erie police Det. Kenneth Merchant charged Ronald John Neiswonger, 52, 536 W. 19th St., second floor, with one count of carrying a firearm on school property, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Police claim Neiswonger walked into Strong Vincent, 1330 W. Eighth St., shortly before the final school bell Tuesday and went to the school's office wearing his licensed 9mm semiautomatic handgun in a shoulder holster. Strong Vincent students are dismissed each day at 3 p.m., acting school Principal Janet Woods said.
Police said a permit Neiswonger got from the Erie County Sheriff's Department allows him to carry a concealed weapon. Neiswonger also brought two additional clips of ammunition with him into the school on Tuesday, police said.
Police and school officials said no one was hurt or threatened. Authorities also do not believe Neiswonger went to the school to harm anyone, Erie police Lt. James Skindell said.
Neiswonger talked to reporters after being arraigned before District Justice John Vendetti Tuesday. He said that he went to Strong Vincent Tuesday to talk to someone about his 15-year-old son, an 8th grader at the school. Neiswonger said he had been told the boy was not in school Tuesday.
Neiswonger also said he took the gun with him to Strong Vincent one day last year, again to talk to someone about his child. "But nothing happened then,'' Neiswonger said. " I told them I had a permit to carry it ... and no one said nothing to me.''
Even someone with a concealed weapon permit is not allowed to bring a handgun onto school grounds in Pennsylvania, according to police and Erie Schools Superintendent James Barker. And the Erie School District has a well-publicized "zero tolerance'' policy on weapons that pertains to both students and adults, Barker said.
"The rule is very simple. There is zero tolerance,'' Barker said while standing outside Strong Vincent Tuesday afternoon. "Only those who are authorized, like state and local police and the FBI, are allowed to (carry weapons on school property).
"There is absolutely no circumstance when a parent should bring any type of a weapon onto school property,'' Barker continued. "It will not be tolerated.''
Barker said a "concerned citizen'' who lives near Strong Vincent called police about Neiswonger. That person saw Neiswonger get out of his car and noticed he was wearing the handgun, Barker said.
After police were notified, uniformed officers made it to the school within minutes, Barker said. There were also off-duty Erie police officers working as security at Strong Vincent, said Jim Perfetto, the school district's chief security officer.
Neiswonger was arrested in the school's office. One Strong Vincent teacher said "he didn't even have time to do anything ... because the police were right there.''
Merchant said Neiswonger told police he asked to talk to Woods, the principal. "But he never got a chance to,'' Merchant said.
Police did not draw their weapons on Neiswonger in the office, Merchant said.
"We did have our hands on our guns. You have to remember there's people in that office at that time who had no idea why we were there, Merchant said.
"When he saw us he just put his hands up,'' Merchant said. Officers then took Neiswonger's gun.
Barker said that Neiswonger was taken into custody within five minutes. As a precaution, school officials delayed dismissal of Strong Vincent's students.
"At no time did this individual brandish, threaten or show the weapon,'' Barker said.
Police said Neiswonger purchased his 9mm semiautomatic handgun in 1996 and obtained the permit some time after that.
Erie County Sheriff Bob Merski confirmed that Neiswonger has a valid gun permit, one of 10,000 on the books in Erie County. Statewide, about 110,000 concealed weapons permits are currently valid, Merski said.
Merski would not comment on how long Neiswonger has had the permit. "That's confidential information,'' Merski said.
Love said Neiswonger told police he applied for the permit for protection, claiming that he and others in his family had been threatened in the past. Neiswonger did not elaborate to police about who made those threats, Love said.
Most people who apply for such permits are looking for personal protection, Merski said. And if an applicant does not have a criminal record, a concealed weapons permit is not hard to get.
"It's a standard application that is printed up by the Pennsylvania State Police,'' Merski said.
Merski said most permits are issued to "very law-abiding citizens. I think that of all the gun permits currently issued to people in the state, only 933 were revoked, for whatever reasons, in 1999,'' Merski said.
At his arraignment Tuesday evening, Neiswonger said he was unemployed. "I'm on disability,'' Neiswonger told Vendetti.
Vendetti set bail at 10 percent of $5,000. Neiswonger was released after posting $500.
Copyright 2000, Times Publishing Company
[/quote]
Well, besides being a moron, did this guy really break any laws? Isn't there a phrase in the law about "firearms possession for other lawful purposes" or somesuch?
There were other articles about this in the paper today. The Erie papers are very antigun, and the editors really got a case of the vapors over this. Luckily, Sheriff Merski is a strong RKBA supporter, from what I've heard.
