Two 17-year-old Andover High School students plead not guilty last week to charges of bringing what police reports call "a BB gun" to school on June 18 and shooting it at other students in the parking lot.
Josue Davila, of 18 Dale St., and Joshua Valentin, of 650 Brookside Drive, are both charged with carrying a firearm on school property. Davila is also charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
The teens appeared in court Aug. 5 after being charged and summonsed by Andover police. Neither student was arrested in the incident that took place three school days before summer recess. They were released on personal recognizance by Judge Thomas Brennan. Davila has a pretrial hearing on Aug. 16 and Valentin's is Sept. 14, said Steve O'Connell, spokesman for the Essex District Attorney's Office.
The maximum penalty for carrying a firearm on school grounds is up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. For assault and battery with a dangerous weapon the maximum penalty is up to 2 1/2 years in the house of corrections or up to 10 years in state prison or a fine of up to $5,000, or both a fine and jail, said O'Connell.
An assistant principal at AHS called police at noon on June 18, reporting a student had brought a BB gun to school and shot another student.
Officer Kevin Aufiero and Sergeant Cecilia Blais responded and met Assistant Principal Christopher Phillips, who was with Valentin.
Valentin gave the officers a Desert Eagle BB pistol and told them he owned the weapon, according to a police report.
"At first glance, the BB gun appeared to be a real handgun and had numerous characteristics which was similar to one," wrote Aufiero in the report. "Valentin stated he was arriving at school to take a final exam with a friend, Josue Davila, when Davila grabbed the BB gun from inside the vehicle area, rolled down the window and shot it at two students, ultimately hitting them."
With school wrapping up for the year, AHS students were coming and going through the parking lot to take final exams that afternoon.
Police spoke with two male students involved in the incident who said they did not previously know Davila or Valentin and did not feel they were intentionally targeted.
One of the students, a 16-year-old, showed officers a welt on his shoulder where he had been hit. He said Davila and Valentin entered the parking lot at a slow rate of speed, rolled down the window and pointed the weapon directly at him, according to the police report.
"(The victim) stated he did think the BB gun was a real handgun. (He) continued by stating the passenger then fired approximately five rounds at him, however, only hitting him in the body area a few times," wrote Aufiero.
When questioned, Davila admitting shooting the gun, but said he did not mean to hit other students.
"Davila further stated that he was only playing with it, and pointed the gun at the ground when shooting it," wrote Aufiero.
After speaking with police, both Davila and Valentine were allowed to go inside and take their final exams.
Since the incident, AHS administration has refused to comment publicly on any school-imposed punishment for Davila and Valentin.
The police report stated both teens were in good academic standing, with no school discipline record or criminal record.
The Andover High School student handbook states "any student who is found on school premises or at school-sponsored or school-related events, including athletic games, in possession of a dangerous weapon, including, but not limited to, a gun or a knife ... may be subject to expulsion from the school or school district by the principal."
