Ex-student jailed for having knife at high school

NORRISTOWN » An Upper Providence Township man convicted of charges he had a knife on school property while he was a student at Spring-Ford Area High School must spend some time in jail.

Calvin Rysheed Edwards, now 20, of the first block of Nutmeg Court, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to three to 23 months in the county jail on a misdemeanor charge of possessing a weapon on school property in connection with an 8:30 a.m. Oct. 4, 2016, incident at the high school in Limerick Township.

Judge William R. Carpenter, who convicted Edwards of the charge during a non-jury trial earlier this year, said Edwards is eligible for the jail’s work release program during his incarceration.

The judge also ordered Edwards to complete three years of probation following parole, meaning he will be under court supervision for about five years.

At the time of the incident Edwards was 18 years old and was charged as an adult.

“These kinds of cases need to be taken seriously because of the inherent danger in the mix of youth, bad decision-making, other kids in school and deadly weapons. It’s just a terrible mix and kids just shouldn’t have these things in a learning environment,” Assistant District Attorney Roderick Fancher said at the time of Edwards’s conviction. “The danger posed to other people is just so great. There is a law in place and that’s to protect our children.”

Court documents indicate that a police officer employed by the SpringFord School District and assigned to the high school was notified by school personnel that Edwards was in possession of a 4-inch folding knife on school property, which is prohibited by state law.

A school official informed the police officer that “during a locker search” he removed a knife from Edwards’ locker.

During the trial, Edwards, who was represented by defense lawyer Robert Keller, suggested he possessed the knife lawfully. But Fancher argued Edwards gave conflicting statements to school officials, and during his trial testimony, about the reasons he possessed the knife.