Judge denies release of student accused of bringing loaded gun to Flowers High School
Student accused of bringing gun to Flowers High School held without bond
An 18-year-old arrested for bringing a loaded gun to Flowers High School -- just days after multiple fights broke-out at in the school – was ordered held without bond by a Prince George’s County Judge. FOX 5’s Stephanie Ramirez was in the courtroom. She reports with details.
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - An 18-year-old arrested for bringing a loaded handgun to Flowers High School — just days after multiple fights broke out at the school — was ordered held without bond by a judge on Tuesday.
Ke’Shawn Reeves also spent the Christmas holiday behind bars after his Dec. 2 arrest. He’s due back in court in February.
Court documents revealed on Tuesday that the 18-year-old Flowers High School senior arrested for bringing a loaded handgun to school was a "person of interest" in the multiple fights that broke out last Tuesday, Dec. 19.
A Prince George’s County Public Schools spokesperson confirmed with FOX 5 that 10 fights took place at the school in just one day.
Two days later, on Dec. 21, police arrested 18-year-old Reeves for bringing the loaded handgun to school.
A PGCPS letter to families that day said Reeves had entered through a side door that was opened by another student.
Student brings loaded gun to Flowers High School days after over 10 fights break out
Police are investigating after a student at Charles Herbert Flowers High School in Springdale brought a loaded gun onto school property.
Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy spoke on the matter after Tuesday’s hearing, acknowledging that she knows there are county students who do not feel safe.
"When you bring a gun to school, that is a problem," Braveboy said. "So if you feel unsafe, please tell your parents, tell the administrators, tell your school resource officers. They are there really to protect you and to help you. Bringing a gun really does nothing but put yourself in a situation like these young people where you’re going to be held without bond, facing very serious charges with very serious consequences. I really don’t have any other choice but to prosecute you."
It was said in court Reeves has no priors.
On Tuesday, Reeves’ father told the judge his son lives with him and that they do not have firearms in the home. The parent described his son as *not a troubled child, but someone who is getting assistance."
Reeve’s father also spoke about wanting to make sure his son finishes school and obtains his CDL (commercial driver’s license) in hopes of getting him onto a career path.
Court documents state Reeves was stopped by school security staff. School security told Flowers’ School Resource Officer that Reeves smelled of marijuana and was "noticeably fidgety" in the security office, so they searched him.
Security found "11 grams of a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana, as well as a silver Bryco Arms Jennings model Nine loaded with six 9mm rounds in the magazine and one 90mm round loaded in the chamber."
Braveboy said the investigation is ongoing and the 18-year-old could be hit with other charges if authorities see fit. However, right now he’s only facing firearms charges.
Reeves is currently charged with being a minor in possession of a firearm, having a dangerous weapon on school property, a loaded handgun on person and having a handgun on person.
The Flowers high school senior was not the only county high schooler to be arrested for bringing a loaded handgun to school last week.
On Friday, Prince George’s County police announced the arrest of a 17-year-old Henry A. Wise Jr. High School student for the same offense.
"Those who have been arrested – at least the last two, it was the observation of them trying to enter through doors that did not have the detection, which really caused the administrators to look at that individual as someone potentially trying to come into the school with something that was illegal," said Braveboy, who spoke in support of metal detectors while also thanking the schools’ staff for being vigilant.
The state's attorney told reporters she could not speak about the status of the 17-year-old who was arrested due to strict juvenile privacy laws in the state of Maryland; even though the 17-year-old is being charged as an adult.
"I really want students to spend time home with their families and just celebrate the season and not fight. Not think of ways to retaliate. And when they get back into school, I do hope that they’re going to have a whole new way of looking at things. And the ones who have been fighting, that they know, that can’t happen – we can’t have that in our schools," said Prince George’s County Council Chair Jolene Ivey.
Ivey’s District includes Flowers High School. The council chair says she’s been in touch with the school’s superintendent and also understands Flowers is a great school that’s been through a lot this school year.
Parents say fights at Flowers High School wouldn't have happened if principal was there
The union representing Prince George’s County principals tells FOX 5 Charles H. Flowers Principal Dr. Gorman Brown has been reinstated after being placed on administrative leave for two months. Many parents blamed the two months away as the reason why chaos broke out inside Flowers on Tuesday.
She’s encouraging parents to have conversations about appropriate behavior with their children, saying it starts at home.
It’s her understanding the school system is going to use restorative justice to address last week’s fighting.
A PGCPS spokesperson previously told FOX 5 several students had been suspended, but did not say how many.