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Education news and issues in the Ozarks.

Suspect Charged in Central High School Gun Incident

Students from Central High School, which is located across the street from Drury, have made some contributions to sgfwiki.org, a
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Students from Central High School, which is located across the street from Drury, have made some contributions to sgfwiki.org, a

Charges have been filed against an 18-year-male stemming from last Friday’s incident at Central High School in which a gun accidentally discharged in the facility’s Commons Area.  

Laverne Antoine Hale of Springfield has been charged with the two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, one count of delivery of a controlled substance and one count of resisting arrest. The office of Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson announced the charges Wednesday.

According to a press release, Hale is alleged to have brought the gun and marijuana into the school and then transferred the items to another student to avoid detection. It is believed that as other students were attempting to remove the gun and pot from school premises a backpack containing the gun fell to the ground, causing the accidental discharge of the handgun.

Hale is in the Greene County Jail on $100,000 bond.

During the initial investigation, three students; Skye Tanski, Denee Jackson and Chelsea Mahan, were identified as being involved in the case.

A probable cause statement reads that a concerned parent, Maleia Ferguson, informed Springfield Public Schools officials on Thursday (9/04) of a Facebook photo of Hale holding a small gun inside what appeared to be a school bathroom. Hale was not located at the school Thursday, but SPS officers did make contact with him at approximately 8:30 a.m. Friday. A search for weapons did not find any, and he was released.  

At approximately 11:12 a.m. that day, Central High School student Mahan is alleged to have received a backpack from Tanski in the commons area of the school. Mahan dropped the backpack and the handgun inside discharged.

A court document lists additional details in order of occurrence, from the notification of Hale’s photo online Thursday to his arrest on Tuesday.

In addition to charges being filed against Hale on Wednesday, Springfield Public Schools also released reports from its law enforcement unit, School Police Services, of its completed investigation, which is not subject to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) privacy protections.

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