Posted on 05/02/2013 2:39:31 PM PDT by grundle
Princeton, N.C. — The Princeton High School community is rallying around a student who was arrested and expelled for having an unloaded shotgun in his car in the school's parking lot.
David Cole Withrow, 16, was charged Monday with bringing a weapon on educational property, which is a felony. He was expelled from school and won't be allowed to graduate with his class later this month.
Withrow, an Eagle Scout and honors student, accidentally left his gun in the car after skeet shooting over the weekend. When he realized, he went inside to ask school officials if he could leave campus to take the gun home, but an administrator reported the weapon to police.
"To have him arrested and expelled from school is excessive," she said. "He locks his vehicle, goes inside and tries to do the right thing."
Others in the Princeton High community agree that Withrow's punishment is too harsh, especially after charges weren't filed when a loaded gun was found in an assistant principal's car two years ago. The assistant principal and a school resource officer were each suspended for three days without pay in that incident.
Johnston County schools spokeswoman Tracey Peedin Jones said the school system has to follow state law regarding weapons on campus.
Students have been painting "Free Cole" on their cars and a local printer even designed a "Free Cole for Doing the Right Thing" bumper sticker.
"I believe he did the right thing by being truthful and being honest," said Joseph Canzaniello of Express Signs. "His integrity will be held intact no matter what happens to him."
(Excerpt) Read more at wral.com ...
My youngest is still on my insurance..and is just about to finish college. She's 24.......
Her husband to be is 26...and has another 6-8 years of training. ( Ortho Surgeon ) Not sure how they plan to cover themselves...during those years. I figure my girl can land a FT job...with health insurance...and cover them both.
We shall see
“I think the ruling to allow parents to keep their kids on their insurance up to the age of 26”
I don’t think it’s a ruling to allow. I believe it’s a requirement. I don’t recall that school had anything to do with it. (Freeper comments?)
Lesson learned: Everything you say can and will be used against you.
Self-reporting an non-crime (no intent) is not the “right thing” to do. Leave. Drive home, secure shotgun, return to school. Say you have nothing to add if asked why.
You do have an absolute right not to incriminate yourself.
No matter how this case comes out, he will probably take a much more cynical attitude toward life now that he has learned that "no good deed goes unpunished."
the university that is
Because Scouts do their best to be honest. This young man was an Eagle Scout.
You could probably put the non-legacy, smart ones in two schoolbusses; the rest play in sandboxes after the cats do their business.
Yeah, but these kids don't know up from down. It's not their fault -- they live in a world where punishment can come out of nowhere and the sentence based on the moment. He thought he was doing the right thing, but someone decided to decide he wasn't.
I feel so sorry for kids growing up now.
According to my insurance company....she must be in school.
But it seems nowadays....it's better not to give info about yourself out. Sometimes silence is the best option.
Amen bro
And usually the “people in charge” at any government enterprise are not in charge because they’re the smartest or have the most common sense.
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