FARMINGTON – A Mt. Blue High School student suspended for 30 days after a gun was found in a borrowed vehicle he drove to school was back in school Monday after a judge issued a temporary restraining order until his court appeal is heard April 19.
The 17-year-old was initially suspended for 10 days after the .25-caliber derringer was found in the borrowed truck in late March. The SAD 9 Board of Directors voted 9-4 Wednesday to suspend him an additional 20 days. The board determined the student unknowingly brought the gun onto school grounds and was not being deliberately disobedient of the state law and school policy, which would have called for expulsion.
The transmission in the teenager’s car failed, and he drove to school in a vehicle that used to belong to his brother, the teen’s attorney, Woody Hanstein, said Monday.
The small gun was found underneath a pile of trash after the vehicle was searched on school grounds for a reason unrelated to the driver but related to his passenger, Hanstein said.
Hanstein said he filed a request for a temporary restraining order and an appeal last week in Franklin County Superior Court in Farmington.
The court is the only place an appeal of the school board’s decision could be heard, Hanstein said.
On Friday afternoon in Somerset County Superior Court in Skowhegan, Justice Joseph Jabar heard the case seeking the temporary restraining order, which would allow the teen to attend school until his final appeal is heard, Hanstein said.
The case was heard in Skowhegan because there was no judge in Farmington.
Jabar signed the order based on there being a reasonable chance the case will be overturned once the judge hears the appeal, Hanstein said, and that the student would be irreparably harmed if he wasn’t allowed back in school until after the appeal is heard.
The appeal is scheduled to be heard at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, at the Somerset County Superior Court in Skowhegan.
The judge’s issuing of the temporary restraining order, which is difficult to get, is encouraging to his client, Hanstein said.
“He’s innocent,” Hanstein said.
There was no answer Monday afternoon at Mt. Blue High School Principal Greg Potter’s office or the Central Office.
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