Student gets probation for bringing gun to school

A 15-year-old student who took a gun to Walnut Ridge High School in the fall has been placed on probation for up to one year.

David McPheters admitted in November in Franklin County Juvenile Court to a delinquency charge of illegally conveying a weapon onto school grounds.

The probation was imposed Wednesday by Magistrate Mary Goodrich.

Walnut Ridge students were participating in a fire drill at the school on East Livingston Avenue on Oct. 13 when the principal heard from a staff member that a student might have a gun.

Columbus police officers responded and approached McPheters, who took off running. Officers found a gun and two magazines of ammunition in the backpack that he left behind.

A Columbus motorcycle officer located and arrested McPheters about 1 mile west of the high school.

To avoid any spillover trouble, Columbus City Schools canceled that night’s football game between Walnut Ridge and South high schools at South’s stadium.

McPheters was released on an electronic-monitoring device while awaiting sentencing. The magistrate ordered him to continue wearing it for the first month of his probation.

The student was expelled from Walnut Ridge after the incident, Assistant Prosecutor Terry Julian said.