These stories are from a writing assignment during the workshop. The students visited Roanoke Circuit Court and spoke with a judge and lawyers about an actual case. The students did not attend an on-the-record hearing.
By AmberLynn Anderson and Victoria Liu
A 19-year-old who is suspected of bringing a firearm to William Fleming High School and his attorney did not show for a Roanoke Circuit Court plea hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
Prince Darius-Aaron Daniels, then a senior at the school, told a resource officer on Jan. 8 that he had brought a gun to the school, said assistant commonwealth’s attorney James Patterson.
Daniels and his publicly appointed attorney, Sarah Timmers, did not show to court on Wednesday. But Judge Charles Dorsey did not issue an arrest warrant for Daniels after the Roanoke Public Defender’s Office informed him that Timmers had incorrect information on the hearing date.
On Jan. 8, Resource Officer Bowdel received a complaint from a parent, Melissa Mines, that her son was being threatened by another student, Patterson said. Police traced the description of the student’s vehicle to a parking permit belonging to Daniels, then a senior.
Before the car was searched, Daniels confessed to possessing a gun. Brittlebaugh, a hall principal, found a small blue Louis Vuitton bag behind the seat of his car with a 6-cylinder gun and a small amount of cannabis, according to a police warrant.
The defendant faces two to five years in jail or probation with no incarceration, Patterson said. The misdemeanor for drug possession may have been dropped if the defendant attended court, Patterson said.
Dorsey explained Wednesday that he may not preside if Daniels decides to enter a not-guilty plea because Patterson gave a summary of the facts in the case in Daniels’ absence.
The hearing was rescheduled for June 28.
