Teen held on $100K bail in English High gun case

November 21, 2008 02:26 PM Email| Comments (3)| Text size – +

By Globe Staff

A Dorchester teenager was held on $100,000 bail today after his arraignment on charges that he brought a loaded handgun to English High School on Thursday.

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Walter West Jr.

Walter West Jr., 17, pleaded not guilty before West Roxbury District Court Judge Thomas C. Horgan, the Suffolk district attorney's office said. West faces charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, carrying a firearm at school, carrying a loaded firearm, resisting arrest, and trespassing. The judged slated a pretrial hearing for Dec. 8.

“The defendant had a cocked and loaded 9mm handgun inside a school,” Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement. “A case like this should be chilling to every parent and every person in the Commonwealth who cares for children’s safety, no matter where those children live or go to school.”

West was one several teens involved in a disturbance around 9 a.m. Thursday at the Jamaica Plain school. West did not attend English High, prosecutors said.

When officers responded to the McBride Street school in an attempt to disperse the teens, one officer allegedly saw West reaching for a school bag. Inside the bag, officers found the gun, police said.

Several other teens involved ran from the school, police said. Officers caught them and charged them with trespassing and disturbing a public assembly. Four were arraigned today. Only one was a student at English High.

West's attorney, Tim Lowney, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

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3 comments so far...

i feel that all the children involved in this matter should be punished to fullest extnet of the law. the one with the gun should be prosicutted as an adult and take the consequences that are involved with the matter. it may sound harsh, but they need to learn a lesson no matter what the consequences are.

Posted by concerned parent November 21, 08 04:38 PM

Yeah the "Toughest gun laws in the nation." really work , don't they ?

Criminals don't care about laws !
Laws only affect law abiding citizens !

Posted by MrTwigg November 21, 08 04:40 PM

When I was in high school, we took our .22 rifles with us so we could go hunting coyotes after school. I wonder what this young man was hunting. Trouble?

Posted by Terry Ball Capt. November 22, 08 02:51 AM