The teenager who sold a rusted handgun to another student at Saluda Trail Middle School last month will spend as many as 45 days in an Upstate detention center, while the teen who bought the gun will be on house arrest during that time, their families learned Tuesday.
School officials found the gun in a locker, secured in a bookbag, after the students made the transaction in the boys' restroom Oct. 2, juvenile solicitor Ouida Dest said in family court.
They were both charged with possession of a gun on school grounds, and both admitted to the charges Tuesday.
But the 15-year-old who sold the pistol had a criminal record, including a previous charge of carrying a weapon on school grounds; he admitted in 2004 that he brought a BB gun to school. The youth's record also includes a 2007 assault and battery charge and a simple possession of marijuana charge, which resulted in him being put on probation this year.
Judge Henry T. Woods cited the teen's prior record in sending him to the evaluation center in Union until mid-December.
“He's going to get himself killed,” Woods told the teen's parents during Tuesday's pre-sentence hearing.
The 13-year-old co-defendant who bought the gun with small bills and coins had no prior charges.
The Herald does not report names of juveniles involved in crimes.
Woods asked both teenagers and their parents if they were aware of the recent spate of teen killings in Rock Hill, which he called a city with “a lot of gang activity.” He also noted a fatal shooting in June that involved a 15-year-old girl who pointed her BB gun at police officers before one of the officers shot her.
Parents and other adults in the courtroom vouched for both teens.
Two community members who represented themselves as personal mentors of the gun seller asked the judge to release the teen to mentoring programs for a new start. However, the judge said he'd need to prove himself by spending time in evaluation first.
“He's got to prove to me that he's ready to do it,” Woods said about the teenager, who had just signed up for weekend boxing classes and attended the city's teen summit against violence with his family.
The teen who bought the gun told the judge he planned to use it for target shooting with his father.
Both parents of the gun buyer explained to the judge that their son did not intend to use the weapon in a violent crime. They said their son earned B's and C's in the school's gifted and talented program and that he never got into trouble.
“He was a good kid making a bad decision,” the teen's father said after the hearing.
But “if he had not asked for the weapon, the gun may not have come onto school grounds at all,” Dest said.
The gun was lying on the side of Friedheim Road, near Adam's Grocery, three or four days before the sale, the teen who found and sold the gun told the judge. His classmate didn't give a reason for wanting the weapon, but offered $65 and paid in full with mostly coins, including 122 dimes.
No clip or bullets were found on school grounds the day of the sale, according to police.
“Guns at school are not tolerated,” Dest said in court. “Clips in them or not. Schools are the most dangerous places for guns.”
The two juveniles will be sentenced next month.
Christy Mullins 803-329-4062
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