Barrington student charged as adult over gun at school
A Barrington High School student accused of having an unloaded .357 Magnum revolver and ammunition on campus Monday is being charged as an adult with a felony weapons offense that could put him behind bars for up to five years if convicted.
A judge set bail Tuesday at $75,000 for Kyle Robert Johnson, 16, on one count of unlawful use of weapon. If convicted, he would face a maximum two to five years in prison, or probation.
Lake County Judge Christen Bishop said in court Tuesday state law allows prosecutors to charge Johnson as an adult because he was older than 15 when he purportedly committed the offense while at school.
Barrington High School has suspended Johnson for 10 days and is recommending his expulsion, Barrington Area Unit School District 220 spokeswoman Morgan Delack said. The decision to expel rests with the District 220 board of education.
At Tuesday night's board meeting, President Brian Battle commended the district on its quick, effective action to keep students safe on Monday. He said an internal review would be performed to see if they should make changes to their security procedures.
“We are an education organization. We are lifelong learners,” Battle said.
Barrington Police Chief Dave Dorn said police continue to investigate why Johnson brought the weapon to school and what, if anything, he intended to do with it.
Stephen Scheller, chief of felony review for the Lake County state's attorney's office, said additional charges may be filed. Barrington police initially indicated Johnson would also face felony and misdemeanor drug charges, but those have not yet been brought.
Johnson will be held at the Robert W. Depke Juvenile Justice Center/Hulse Detention Center near Vernon Hills if he cannot post bail. He's scheduled to return to court Friday.
His attorney, Kip Owen, said that while not downplaying the seriousness of the allegations, it should be noted that the gun was not loaded and his client did not threaten anyone.
“He has no history of any kind of violence whatsoever,” Owen said. “Nothing.”
Johnson's parents attended Tuesday's court hearing but through Owen declined to comment.
The teen was arrested Monday after a staff member at the high school saw a handgun fall out of his backpack in a school bathroom, authorities said. The staff member alerted administrators, who enacted a hard lockdown of the campus.
Officials say they then used video surveillance from outside the bathroom door to identify the student, who was taken into custody without incident by police.
“The gun was found on him, in his pants,” Scheller said outside court Tuesday, adding that four bullets were found in Johnson's backpack, which he'd placed in a locker.
Police said Johnson also had 38 Strattera pills, three Xanax bars, hallucinogenic mushrooms and marijuana.
Johnson was ordered not to have any contact with Barrington High School employees as one of the conditions of his bail.
• Daily Herald reporter Doug T. Graham contributed to this report.