A parent in the Pinckney Community Schools District who brought a concealed weapon into a school and dropped it in front of students has been sentenced in the case.
Robert Ray Berger, 45, was ordered on Monday to serve six months of probation, attend a gun safety course, surrender his firearm and pay $1,255 in fines and fees for his guilty plea to a single count of possessing a weapon in a weapon free school zone following the March 17th incident at Navigator School in Pinckney.
According to district officials, Berger, a parent who is considered to be a “well-known, active and engaged volunteer…innocently forgot to leave his holstered gun in his vehicle prior to entering the building” during lunch/recess and while engaging with students in the gym, the holster fell off the his belt and landed on the floor.
After Berger, who has a valid CPL (Concealed Pistol License), placed the weapon back in his car, the school’s resource officer was contacted as well as Superintendent Rick Todd and Navigator Principal Ruth Badalucco. A report was then filed following an investigation by the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office.
Michigan law says CPL holders can carry a weapon onto school grounds as long as that gun stays visible, otherwise it is fully prohibited from being carried in a concealed, or hidden, way. However, a decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals, gives school districts the right to ban guns whether they are carried openly or concealed.
