An observant parent was the first to noticed that 20-year-old Joshua Sawyers had a handgun at JT Moore middle School on Tuesday.
According to an arrest warrant, at approximately 3:55 p.m. Tuesday, the school’s head principal requested school resource officer Mark Lemcke outside to the car rider lane, where students were being picked up at the end of the day. She advised of an out-of-place young male wearing a black jacket on the property, and a parent who was waiting in the car line, reported she saw him in possession of a handgun.
The SRO approached the young man, and he initially said he was waiting on a ride. He was advised he would have to wait on his ride at Green Hills Park, which is adjacent to the school, and he complied. After speaking with the parent who observed the gun, the SRO learned the man was observed with a chrome handgun in his jacket pocket. The SRO walked next door to the park, to make contact with the subject, who denied having anything on him, and consented to a search. A pat down of his person revealed a handgun in the left jacket pocket of Sawyers. The gun was unloaded, and he was placed into custody.
Joshua Alex Sawyers, 20, refused to speak with officers about the incident, and was transported to booking. He is charged with carrying a weapon on school property, and currently held in lieu of a $5,000 bond. He will have a bond review hearing on Thursday.
